Gratitude Changes Everything.

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is a week away? My Thanksgiving holiday begins a week from today and I will be back in my home town with my parents. :)The whole idea of thanksgiving and gratitude has really gripped me recently. I talked about some ways to cultivate a grateful heart last week and I truly believe that it changes everything. Actively practicing gratitude has been a pretty life altering shift for me... in a surprisingly small way.I look around me and I don't feel really all that different and it is not something that I notice everyday... but the small things are starting to add up. I thought I would share with you my list of gratitude. I'm just going to skip the 'big ones' (you know like family and friends) and focus the little things... which I think are the more powerful things to consistently list off because it is hard to just 'stay grateful' for the big things. It is easier to focus on a little sliver of something amazing in your life.Right at this very moment I am grateful for. . .

my husband putting away dishes right now as I type... and I didn't even ask him toothe long phone call I had with my mom ... I'm so happy we can talk for hoursthe view from my living room windowsthe crisp (but not freezing) temperatures right nowthe way my puppy sleeps on my feet when I'm at my tablethe pumpkin pecan candle I have burning that smells like full on Christmas to me

You know... the little cheesy things that people tell you to do.... but that you don't cause they're cheesy. Here is the thing. You should just do it. I challenge you to focus on being grateful for one week.... focus on your blessings and push away thoughts of self pity.