Three years of writing daily appreciations. Wow! How lucky I am to have stumbled upon this practice. How grateful I am for the ways it has rewired my brain so it is now always on the lookout for what is good and lovely in the world. How thrilled I am to have found kindred spirits whose desire to look for the best, reframe things in the most positive light, and search out nuggets of joy, have helped me on my own path.

The past three years have been filled with incredible changes (and yes, challenges) some of which would have seemed insurmountable, unbearable if it weren’t for the constant stream of noticing what is beautiful. This practice has made is so much easier to see, even on darker days, how incredibly lucky I am to know the people I know. Wonderful, bright, funny, deeply loving and supportive, generous and kind people everywhere I turn. It has helped me notice how beautiful the wind sounds as it blows through leaves on trees, how intensely blue the sky can be, how powerful the sound of laughter is. Today, especially, I am grateful for gratitude. ❤

Also, coffee.

And new beginnings.

And hamburgers that are “delicious” — and a daughter who understands my appreciation of well-placed “quotation marks” and will take photos of the best examples to send to me. 🙂