Thanksgiving: My Favorite Gratitude Practice

We spent a wonderful week in California with my brother's family for Thanksgiving. The week was complete with surfing, the dog beach, dancing, seeing the new Hunger Games movie, playing games and of course making and eating lots of pie. We enjoyed every minute. Sunny had the time of her life crawling at full speed towards the waves and it was such a joy to watch her.

Every Thanksgiving we circle around the table and each person shares one thing (or multiple things) they are grateful for. I love hearing everyone share and it always warms my heart to reflect on the abundance of blessings, even in the midst of things that are hard. Outside of this time around the dinner table, I have a personal favorite gratitude practice that I try including in my routine year round. In this exercise, I write down 5 things that I'm grateful for that specifically happened within the last 24 hours.

I'm thankful of course for the big things: our home, safety, family, our health, work etc. But there's something that happens for me personally when I specifically take time to notice the small things that have happened within the last 24 hours. It helps me slow down, notice and truly see how much I have to be grateful for. For me personally, this also helps me feel a sense of abundance even during periods of time that are hard or heavy. The things on my list can be small or big but they are always significant to me.

Star is thankful she escaped from her collar and couldn't be caught by mom and dad during family photos

I recently heard someone say that gratitude is the key to an abundant life. I know gratitude doesn't change our circumstances but it certainly can help us feel an increase of hope and light in the dark. Here are the 5 things on my gratitude list for the last 24 hours:

Today I am grateful for:

1. Sunny taking a solid nap this morning

2. Getting our family pictures back

3. Running with Star this morning

4. A beautiful sunrise

5. Aaron making overnight oats last night

The more I practice this exercise, the more quickly the thoughts come and the more mindful I am throughout the day of the many things I have to be grateful for. I consider what I'll be able to add to my list the next day. I know we are in an especially sweet time of our lives right now with a 1 year old baby, living in a place that we love. This practice helps me soak all of it in and feel ready for the journey ahead. Practicing gratitude doesn't dismiss or minimize grief, loss, pain, sadness or any other type of heavy emotional experience. It adds glimmers of light into the darkness and can help us continue to move forward. If you have a gratitude practice that works well for you, we'd love to hear it! If expressing gratitude isn't a part of your daily routine, it's never too late to start.

Especially grateful for this sweet and sassy girl

Our family photos were taken by Michele Nikkels. She was wonderful and really rolled with the chaos of our little fam.