Guest Column: Gratitude is all around us

The Costume and Candy holiday is over and we’ve turned the calendar to November. Our thoughts naturally turn to deer hunting, furnace repair and gratitude.

Some years ago, during a dark time in my mind, I read about the practice of gratitude. What did that mean, anyway — practicing gratitude? Isn’t gratitude simply knowing to say “thank you” at the culturally appropriate times?

The book I was reading — I’ve forgotten what it was called, but I am grateful for its existence — suggested keeping a “gratitude journal.” There is nothing to buy or any special format. All you need is paper. The task for this practice is simply to write down seven things you are grateful for every day before retiring. Seven things. Before bed. Try it.

Why seven? Well, the first three or four tend to come easily, even after a difficult day. Family, food, heat in the house, a car that starts, etc. But after that, you need to get a little more creative. Perhaps this is when you remember slipping on the steps and not breaking any bones. That is something to be grateful for. Maybe you see a completed project for work or school and you thank yourself for working that extra 20 minutes on it today, because it looks much better for that extra time. (Yes, you are allowed to be grateful for a decision you made.) Stuck for a seventh item, you walk to the sink for a glass of water and think: I’m grateful for water. Yay! Seven and done for today.

Where’s the magic in this practice?

Try it every night for a week. Soon you’ll be bored of the everyday things to be grateful for and your imagination will kick in. You’ll find yourself grateful for the volume control on your car stereo and for the “time bake” feature on your oven. You’ll remember that great meal you had for supper and write, “thank you for farmers.” At some point, you’ll find you are grateful for air.

While it’s not impossible, it is more difficult to feel gloomy when there is so much to be grateful for. After some days or even a few weeks, you’ll find yourself keeping track of things to write down in your gratitude journal that evening.

That’s when you know you can stop with the writing part if you want to. Your gratitude practice is all about the acknowledgement. It’s not an assignment to be turned in. But, if you ever feel you need a boost, give the writing another go. You won’t be sorry.

This week, I’m grateful to live in a country with elections. The United States of America is experiencing a lot of strife right now, and we all know it’s not a perfect system. But we do have free and open elections. I’m thankful for the task of assessing my options and for my duty to cast my ballot on Tuesday.

I am also grateful for my family, good food, a warm house, conversations with friends, music, color, and a nice cool drink of water.

Writer Rita Vavrosky is a small-scale farmer, educator, mother and grandmother hoping to make the world a better place, one thought at a time. Email her at [email protected].