All too often we only set aside one time per year to really, truly give thanks for all we have. Even those who feel they don’t have alot have one thing we should all be thankful for; the gift of life. Beauty is all around us and if we can capture that sense of continued awe when we stop, take a breathe, and appreciate all of the things we enjoy but take for granted, the world instantly looks like a better place.

Gratitude and appreciation is truly the conduit to happiness, a sense of purpose, and a fuller life. I’ve been meaning to start a gratitude journal for quite awhile now, and the idea struck me that it would be even more powerful to share it and inspire others to do the same. My aim is to find one thing to be grateful for each day which will force me to dig deeper to see tiny details that make our lives great but go overlooked.

Without further ado:

#ThankfulThursday – 2/19 – 2/25/2015

Today I’m thankful for…

2/19/2015 – Flying shuttle loom.

The flying shuttle revolutionized making fabrics and textiles. Fabrics are everywhere in our lives, and cheaper, softer, and more durable fabrics are the result of shuttle technology.

2/20/2015 – (Sleeping) dreams.

Dreams are awesome, especially the ones you have at night. Dreams are surreal and allow us to experience things, sometimes extreme things, that are entirely outside(and beyond) our own waking lives. Nightmares also have a powerful quality that we can experience in a vivid fashion what it would be like to lose those we care about or many other disruptions to our great “normal” lives and we get to harness that sense of relief and realize how good we have it.

2/21/2015 – Printing.

In a few different posts I’ve talked about history and (availability of) information because it’s our written record of the world that allows us to continue to build on the progress of previous generations. While c computers have done it for a few decades, printing was and in many ways still is the conduit for the information and the printing press (and following printer innovations) made that information more accessible than ever.

2/22/2015 – Sensors.

Sensors are our quantified way of being able to observe the world. We use them in millions of different ways, but what’s constant is that sensors allow us to instrument and learn from the world. Your cell phone is littered with them – proximity sensors, accelerometers, light sensors, temperature sensors, fingerprint sensors, and probably dozens more internally. Sensors allow us to observe the world in a quantifiable way so we can learn how it’s changing. They tell you how fast you’re going on the freeway and make safe, reliable air travel possible. They help us predict the weather, and impact our lives in countless other ways every day.

2/23/2015 – The transistor.

It’s extremely probably that without the transistor, the computer as we know it wouldn’t exist today. I’m not sure if we would have figured out another way to make computers possible, but the transistor is the foundation that makes the digital worlds we know today. And computers have done some pretty awesome stuff (like beaming these words to you right now).

2/24/2015 – Math.

While it’s the least-favorite subject of many people, it’s simply a miracle what math has allowed humankind to accomplish. When you think about it, it’s actually extremely trippy to realize how odd it is that mathematical equations and numbers can be assembled to describe the world, and in many ways, our entire existence. It’s amazing that math, through sometimes extremely-simple relations has yielded the greatest advancements we’ve ever known (like e=mc²).

2/25/2015 – Speakers.

Music is the language of the soul, and I’m just thankful we have speakers that allow that music to be replayed and heard wherever we are. Speakers let me hear the voices of people I miss from afar, become immersed in a great movie, re-live moments gone by, and share a connection with other people. Speakers have been the foundation for the rapid spread of ideas and information, translating signals back into audible information for us to take in – a keystone in the globalized world we know today.

Your turn

I’m always looking for more inspiration, so tell me, what’s one thing you’re grateful for from the past week? I’ll share a few submissions during next week’s post and intend to keep that going all year long. While I love #ThrowbackThursday, I’d love to see #ThankfulThursday take off too.

The more we can say thanks, the better off we’ll be. Especially because we don’t know if we’ll be able to say “thanks” to those we care about tomorrow or to those who’ve touched us that we’ll never cross paths with again – why wait?