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 – 3/26 – 4/1/2015

Today I’m thankful for…

3/26/2015 – Philosophy.

Philosophy is widely thought of as an academic and abstract exercise. What I particularly like about philosophy is that it provides an approach to breaking down complex ideas into practical components. While philosophical ideas are often in conflict with the realities of the world, their framework gives us a direction we can head towards – a set of guiding principles, of sorts.

3/27/2015 – Pools.

With the weather warming up, pools are a great way to cool down and and get some great exercise in clean, crystal clear, smooth water.

3/28/2015 – A dry roof over my head.

I’m so grateful to have a warm, dry place to live every day. A privilege I still often take for granted but is one of the most basic luxuries we can have.

3/29/2015 – Soap.

Soap helps keeps us healthy and our environment sanitary. I also appreciate soap for saving time cleaning my dishes.

3/30/2015 – Serendipity.

Sometimes it feels like the world paves the way for us and all the pieces come together. When it rains, it pours, and serendipity can feel the same way.

3/31/2015 – Obsessions.

I’m reading Founders at Work by Jessica Livingston, and in one of the chapters she interviews Steve Wozniak, the Co-Founder of Apple next to Steve Jobs. What struck me the most with his borderline obsession with everything related to computers. And it was his obsession that enabled him to become so great at his craft and help give birth to the PC industry as we know it today. I also watched The Imitation Game, a recent film showing Alan Turing’s efforts to break the Enigma Code which helped win World War II, and whose efforts effectively led to the birth of modern day computer science.

Many of these great people shared a passionate obsession for their fields of interest, and they’ve made a mark on the world in significant ways.

4/1/2015 – Food preservatives.

Much of our ability to feed over 7 billion people on planet Earth today comes from being able to preserve food. Salt, vinegar, sealed cans/jars, refrigerators, and the other preservatives we use today allow us to ship food around the world, store food for longer (making it substantially cheaper), and supports an efficient supply chain which goes largely unappreciated. Our ability to feed a rapidly-growing human population would be hard to fathom if we couldn’t keep food for more than a few days or weeks. Preservatives have been key to humankind’s prosperity for a very long time, with salt being one of the most valuable minerals in the world in the past.

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?