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 a lot 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 breath, 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 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 – 6/25 – 7/1/2015

Today I’m thankful for…

6/25/2015 – Poker.

Poker is a great game for a few fundamental reasons: it’s very social, it’s fun, and it’s a great representation of risks & rewards in life. In fact, it’s a pretty good representation of our lives in general – let me briefly explain.

We can basically play indefinitely, and there’s an average cost for how long we get to play because of the blinds we have to pay in. This is analogous to our time, the ticking clock that is life. From there it’s all about seizing opportunities when you’re lucky, cutting your losses when you aren’t, and sometimes bluffing your way to a big win. You’ll win some, you’ll lose some, and if you apply some smarts and the right blend of risk taking you’ll can take it all home.

The more you think about it, the more it really is a small-scale version of our everyday lives and that’s really amazing.

6/26/2015 – Acceptance.

The only way we can find peace is through acceptance. Acceptance is like the gate to some peaceful place – you can’t be there before passing through the checkpoint. Acceptance is looking at everything we know and determining we are okay with it all or, at the very least, that we understand how we got there and we concede that the only way is forward.

Acceptance comes in many forms but it doesn’t matter whether it’s people, our environment, how our careers are going – what matters is coming to terms with it all and the inner peace that comes with it.

6/27/2015 – Calendars.

I’m often amazed at early Astronomers and scientists. They were able to stand in a tiny part of the universe and come to understand so much of it just by watching and recording the sky. It’s amazing that they understood the lunar cycles, how the starts move over the course of a year, and the length of time that represents a day, an hour, or a month.

The calendar is the composition of all those things and gives us an enormous amount of structure and understanding to our lives.

6/28/2015 – Seasons.

Even though I like some seasons more than others, I’d still rather have seasons than it always being the “best” season. Seasons give us a better reference of time and breaks in our year. The weather changes and so do we and it gives us more variety to our lives. There are also more abstract “seasons” like a season of a sport or “first semester” that give us breaks and “checkpoints” in our lives that help give definition to the “whens” in our lives.

6/29/2015 – Goodyear.

Yes, as in Goodyear tires (or their famous blimp). Vulcanized rubber is one of those inventions that is so common it goes almost completely unnoticed yet is more important than we realize; used in tires, seals, shoes, and so much more.

Charles Goodyear was one of those historic, obsessive inventors who tried over and over to find a way to get rubber, which is very gummy before vulcanization to stabilize and make it useful in all the ways we have today. With a little heat, some sulphur, and lead he found a recipe that would shape the rest of the world in ways I’m sure he never thought possible.

6/30/2015 – Being Busy.

One of my favorite mantras in my life is “better busy than bored.” I tend that I’m happier because I feel accomplished, assuming it’s not overwhelming. I also have a super-active mind and boredom can be lonely echo chamber and being busy and having fun, exciting things to do is the best cure.

7/1/2015 – Getting a Chance.

Whether you succeed or fail, there’s nothing like getting a shot at something you’re chasing. Should you fail it’s indicative of the progress you’ve made to at least get really close and what you learn in the process and being able to understand exactly where you’re lacking is priceless.

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?