I’ve talked about my gratefulness practice, and how that community came to me during a time in my life when I really needed to build time into my day-to-day to be intentional about what in my life mattered.

Today, I’m feeling darkness close in. I’m not worried. I want to be clear.

But these are exactly the times when going deep into gratefulness helps me. Similar to how “every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings,” naming my graces feels like I’m poking holes in the gloom.

1. The committed researchers working tirelessly to find treatments for devastating chronic diseases

2. People who sweep out the sewer grates on our corners so our streets don’t flood during downpours

3. Watching friends find their voices and really lean into speaking out

4. The way my dog smacks her lips and takes a deep breath in, letting out a long sigh to let me know she’s settled

5. Neighborhood small businesses that do Insta reels explaining how they will not tolerate customers misgendering their employees

6. Puppy toe beans

7. The flavor of marshmallow

8. College sports

9. My dog plodding over to ask for an ice cube (almost) every time I open the freezer

10. Having neighbors that regularly nod to me when I’m out walking my dog, just to say “Hey, I see you.”

11. Guacamole

12. Hard boiled eggs that are easy to peel

13. A quick 20-minute nap

14. My mom’s voice sounding lighter today after a critical cardiac event last week

15. The way the first warmer days of the season smell fresh and clean and full

16. Remembering the books I used to love as a kid, like Corduroy, the way I can still feel the tingle of loneliness in my belly hoping he’d find a friend

17. Asking my kid to explain some Gen Z slang to me (twin) and laughing hysterically when I realize how wrong I’d had it

18. Driving home from the gym with the windows down

19. The excitement I feel when reading a book that has me hooked, taking every chance I get to dive in again and again

20. Seeing the Robins come back, a sure sign of Spring

What are you grateful for? Do any of the above resonate with you, too?

The Light Link

Read aloud Corduroy (I used to love to have books read aloud to me when I was a kid!)