Gratitude

"Every year at the end of November, we take time out of our lives and dedicate an entire day to being thankful for the people and things around us...Our society is inundated with constant wants and needs. The more we indulge those wants and needs, the more we desire, and it can become a vicious cycle. But taking a step back and being aware of the things in your life that you are truly thankful for brings peace to the chaos. Being thankful for the little things around you allows you to be present and live fully in the moment, instead of spending time wishing for things that are just out of reach and missing the joy right in front of your nose."

-Words from a yoga teacher I love and don't see as much as I'd like to

I've been seeing people blog daily with what they are grateful for this month. This yoga teacher said similarly that a fantastic exercise in the practice of gratitude is to keep a “gratitude journal.” At the end of each day, take a moment to write down five things that you are thankful for. You’ll begin to notice that even on days you would consider to be “bad” there are little things that make it worth getting out of bed. Becoming mindful and aware of the things you are grateful for will enrich even the simplest things in life and allow you to appreciate your surroundings more deeply.

Last year hubby and I hosted Thanksgiving and I did something like this with family that attended. I put out a nice journal with a page for each person to write what they were thankful for and now it is a treasure I keep from that day. I have been saying prayers and thinking about what I am grateful for a lot lately. With being pregnant, I'm more emotional and in touch with this side of myself I think, so doing this helps to relieve things on my mind. This Thanksgiving we are not hosting but it will not be any less special - new beginnings will keep it lively!