Quotidian Gratitude

 Therapists recommend keeping a gratitude journal.  Arthur Brooks in his letters on happiness asks readers to respond with what makes them happy—not a bucket list kind of happiness but a more ordinary, daily happiness.

I wake up in the morning and start my day with the prayer:  “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”  Then I read Heather Cox Richardson’s daily Substack post and I despair for our country with its leaders making bad decisions day after day.  I pray not to let my struggle with mild depression get the best of me. And right now I pray that my struggle with pain and mobility not overcome me.  And then I get out of bed. 

I do keep a gratitude journal in my private online journals but I thought that today I would make my routine reasons for gratitude a bit more public here. 

As others said in the Brooks article, I am grateful for that first sip of coffee in the morning.  Jim almost always has it ready for me in the thermos.  I like opening Spelling Bee and Connections on my NYT app on my iPhone.  I do what I can on my own and then Jim and I compare our lists.  We don’t give up until we get to Genius—even if it means having to look at the hints provided. I rarely succeed in Connections without getting the message “next time.” 

I read the lectionary for the day and often go to Sacred Space or Divine Office for wisdom and guidance and a few moments of peace.  I like my time of mindfulness on the deck when I do my breath prayers and try to see and hear and feel nature around me. 

I am thankful if I have a plan for supper that does not involve much work—maybe just leftovers from another meal. 

I am thankful if my husband comes over and gives me a kiss saying that he knew I just needed that. I am thankful to have him here working in the study or doing errands with me.  The only times we are apart are when he goes golfing and I am always happy to get his message from the 13th green and know that he will be home soon.  I am thankful that we can do a NYT crossword puzzle while enjoying a happy hour in the late afternoon.  Usually I am thankful that we can cheer the Mets on SNY with our favorite announcers Gary and Keith and Ron although the Mets don’t make it a relaxing experience very often.

I am thankful to have this iPad and the connection it gives me with a world of information and with friends and acquaintances from years past and with our family wherever they are. (Today it’s Ocean Grove, New Jersey and Venice!) 

I don’t have a bucket list.  I am quite content to stay home and have a pretty routine existence.  I like that word “quotidian”  which has entered my vocabulary recently.  I have quotidian reasons for gratitude—many of them.