AUGUST 2018 - I am making a sincere effort to live a life of thankfulness, and the result has been unexpectedly good.
Thirty-one days ago I made a change. Rather than watch for unexpected finds as I walk each day, I decided to be purposefully thankful.
Each day, I focus my eye (and camera) on a reason to be thankful. I document the reason with my iPhone and post the photo along with my thoughts to my Instagram and Facebook accounts.
What I am discovering is that when I make a conscious, intentional effort to be aware of "every good and perfect gift that comes from above, handed down from the Father of light," I find them, and pretty much everything about my life improves.
The things that normally irk me, just aren't important. The major life pitfalls of health, finances and interpersonal struggles are absorbed into the halo of gratitude.
Difficult days still come. Hard life moments still happen. Disappointment still hovers. But, in choosing to be grateful and appreciative, what seemed to be mountains before are now molehills that are easily navigable.
I didn't set any parameters around my decision to focus on thanksgiving. I considered limiting the exercise to a week or a month, but once I got started I saw no reason to stop. I thought I might purposefully exclude the obvious blessings like my home and my family, but that seemed too prescriptive.
I've been a little surprised by the response of others to this new approach to living. On the fun side, there's the lady I met at Honeymoon Bakery who asked me if I was Kudzudad from Instagram. That was unexpected and kind of cool. On the shocking side is a singularly negative response to one of my posts. I guess that person was just having a bad day, which is kind of ironic, given that bad days aren't so bad when you look for something for which to be thankful.
When you approach the day with an attitude of gratitude you just don't see the negative as much. Or, if you do, it pales in comparison to the good that you see.
So far, I've publicly expressed by thanks for all kinds of things:
My brother-in-law, Clint
My boss and friend, Haley Walker
Dogs
Freedom and truth
Small town businesses
Shade in summer, colorful leaves in fall and deciduous trees
Friends
Time with my family
Music
Autumn's creativity and sense of humor
My pastor (and friend)
Unexpected reminders to see the world through the lens of the cross
Friday night daddy-daughter dates with Autumn
My children's childhood artwork: treasures from days gone by
Out-of-the-blue encouragement from my son
My favorite podcasts
A house filled with laughter
Memorable gifts like the King James Bible I received for my high school graduation
Autumn's kitchen creations
My co-worker, Mark
My wife's financial resourcefulness
My son and his friends' pursuit of their passions
The gift of home-grown tomatoes
A home filled with creativity
My Wednesday night men's group
Sweet surprises, like learning about my daughter's thoughtfulness
My wife
Ambitious young people who hike the Appalachian Trail or commit a year of their lives to Christian mission work
The joy of anticipation
Sanitation, utility and public safety workers
And, today, my dad's wallet
I encourage you to look for just one thing for which to be grateful today. I promise you, you'll find one. I tell my kids you find what you seek. It's true. If you go looking for trouble, you'll find it. If you expect to have your feelings hurt, it'll happen. If you seek a reason to be thankful, you will be. I'm going to keep looking for reasons to be grateful. They are everywhere.
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