Three on Thursday | Grateful.

Every day, as the last piece of that day's journaling, I write down five things for which I am grateful. Partly to be intentional about gratitude. but also because it feels good to end each journal entry on a positive note. The Book of Joy lists gratitude as one of the Eight Pillars of Joy and devotes an entire chapter to it. I'm sure most of us reading the book are not at all surprised at how much joy comes from gratitude, but this:

...people who focus on gratitude, by keeping a list of what they were grateful for, exercised more often, had fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives, and where more positive about the week ahead compared to those who recorded hassles or neutral life events. ... Grateful people report more positive emotions, more vitality and optimism, and greater life satisfaction as well as lower levels of stress and depression. (The Book of Joy, p. 248)

Well, maybe it is preaching to the choir!

In any event, these four Thursdays in November, I'm going to share three things that made my Grateful list over the past week. Yes, it's an easy NaBloPoMo post, but I think gratitude (like smiling) is contagious. Thursday seems like the perfect day to share a little Thanks.

1. Healing. My ankle is still bruised, but I'm up and about and even did a 30-minute Pilates workout yesterday.

2. Family living close enough to share birthday celebrations.

3. Crisp clear blue skies.

The three photos were from yesterday's morning walk. I do love the lake this time of year!

Joining in with Carole and crew for Three on Thursday.

(and now two days down ... 28 more to go!)