I have a friend who often posts her list of “three beautiful things” on social media as a gratitude practice. She inspires me to practice gratitude, even if I don’t always post those things for the world to see.
Gratitude boosts your immune system and elevates your mood by dumping ‘good feeling’ chemicals in your body. It gives your body a chance to rest and digest, instead of being on alert in our typical fight or flight mode.
It is not HAPPY people who are THANKFUL. It is THANKFUL people who are HAPPY. (author unknown)
Here are my favorite ways to practice gratitude:
- Write three things I’m thankful for in my journal each day. i like to do this at the end of the day.
- Use a blank calendar as my Gratitude list. Write things each day I am grateful for.
- Post three things on social media that make me happy. I can do this daily, weekly or for a month at a time.
When I spend time focusing on the beautiful things in life, I find I have a positive outlook on other aspects of my day. It also bubbles over to others. If you are not already using gratitude as a daily practice, I encourage you to try it for the rest of this month.
My three beautiful things I celebrate today are:
- A birthday: my dear husband.
- An anniversary: 29 wonderful years! (June 21)
- A funeral: remembering a creative aunt.
What is on your list of three beautiful things in your life?
Percolations Brewing Within 
I used to have a practice of sending a daily text to a small group of friends with one thing I was grateful for. Since that ran its course I’ve been lacking in my gratitude practice…
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That’s a great idea to share the practice via text with a group of friends. Perhaps a new gratitude practice will evolve into a blog post on a regular basis for both of us!
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I keep a gratitude journal, too. I like the idea of making posts online of three beautiful things. Never too many ways to express one’s gratitude!
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The advantage of online sharing is that it inspires others to notice and be aware of the things they are grateful for.
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Super grateful for being able to be by my father’s bedside when he most needs me, grateful to be sharing this updownround journey with my amazing big sis, grateful for youtube video that showed us how to fix the windscreen wiper that flew off the car this morning. x
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So good you can see these beautiful things in the midst of all you have happening. Hugs!
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I start my day with gratefulness, although I don’t always write it in my journal. You have inspired me to write my gratefulness.
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That’s great Masha! Putting thoughts on paper adds another layer of depth to gratitude. Try it for a few weeks and see what you notice!
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