Blogging Your Blessings

The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.—The Dalai Lama Appreciation can change a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.—Margaret Cousins There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.—Albert Einstein   Give thanks for a little and you will find a lot. — The Hausa of Nigeria

 Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.—Henry Ward Beecher  Gratitude is the memory of the heart.—French Proverb  I murmured because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.—Persian Proverb  The knowledge that something remains yet unenjoyed impairs our enjoyment of the good before us.—Samuel Johnson If a fellow isn't thankful for what he's got, he isn't likely to be thankful for what he's going to get. — -Frank A. Clark

 Take stock of your day-to-day life. Are you giving to others or is a little out of balance where your work, your immediately family gets 99% of what you offer the world?  You can change that in one day. Donate more of your time or money to a charity. Supporting a cause will help keep you informed about social issues and can strengthen your sense of well being while benefitting others in the process. Additionally, monetary donations are tax deductible. This is really just a bonus because the real reward is not on April 15th but comes the other 364 days of the year.

 It's easy to judge others for their actions and take for granted those we love or meet in chance encounters. We sometimes get so caught up in our busy-ness that we forget others are busy too, they have rough days just like us, and they benefit from our kindnesses just as we do theirs. Go out of your way to smile at strangers, say good morning, say thank you, give a compliment, and listen attentively to someone who needs your ear. Do it because you can, because it feels great, because it makes someone else feel good. Don't worry about a subsequent thank you; let a thank you be a beautiful perk, rather than an expectation. 

  . When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.—G. K. Chesterton  When eating bamboo sprouts, remember the man who planted them. — Chinese Proverb The mere habit of learning to love is the thing.—Jane Austen    For one man who thanks God that he is not as other men there are a thousand to offer thanks that they are as other men, sufficiently as others are to escape attention.—John Dewey

Write a note of gratitude, a “mindful memo,” to the people in your everyday life who make a difference—the mailman, a grocery clerk, or the greeter at the mall. Tell your friends about their places of business or their great service so their businesses can grow. Just by paying attention to those people in your everyday life, who can so easily go unnoticed (especially if your smart phone is glued to your hand), you can enrich each other’s live a little each day

The world is more malleable than you think and it’s waiting for you to hammer it into shape.—Bono He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. —Epictetus Gratitude is the sign of noble souls. —Aesop Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude.        — Albert Schweitzer Gratitude changes the pangs of memory into a tranquil joy. — Dietrich Bonhoeffer If you have lived, take thankfully the past. —John Dryden Gratitude is the moral memory of mankind. —Georg Simmel

Call your parents (or whoever raised you) and thank them for everything they did for you! Service men and women are doing just that, SERVICE. And they should be thanked for it. Many of these noble souls are very far away and receive little mail to their camp or barrack. Take a few moments to acknowledge their contribution and offer a friendly hello from back home in the USA. You can learn all about Operation Write Home at www.operationwritehome.gov.  I have heard of great pen pal relationships come out of this gesture of gratitude, too.

Sometimes I go about pitying myself, and all the while I am being carried across the sky by beautiful clouds.—Ojibway proverb When I'm not thank'd at all, I'm thank'd enough, I've done my duty, and I've done no more.—Henry Fielding  Do not let the empty cup be your first teacher of the blessings you had when it was full.—Alexander Maclaren A grateful mind      By owing owes not, but still pays, at once      Indebted and discharg’d.—John Milton Thankfulness is the tune of angels.—Edmund Spenser Praise the bridge that carried you over.—George Colman the Younger

Leave encouraging, inspiring, or funny notes/quotes in a library book or other random places (without littering or defiling public property). A simple note stapled to a bulletin board, taped to a column, or written in chalk on the sidewalk may influence in wonderful ways—plus, you’ll be like a secret agent, bringing happiness to others. This website has fun examples that might give you an idea: www.artofgettingstarted.com