Beginning the List

I've been challenged by Ann's 1000 gift list to begin one of my own.  

So I started the day after Christmas.  As I began listing things I was thankful for, something started happening way deep down.  As I was drifting off to sleep that night, I realized that thanksgiving is a feast for the soul.  The gratitude was changing me.  Changing my perspective, changing my outlook.  I am grateful for this experience, for this new-found joy. 

“Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.” John Milton

A snippet and commentary from my 1000 gift list:

# 14 Driving by a snowy hill - so thankful that I grew up with an appreciation for the beauty of nature.  My mom and dad gave me that.

I can still hear my mom squealing “It’s snowing!” in my inner ear.  Probably because she still does it every time it snows.  And every beautiful sunset that graces the sky, I hear her exclaim, “Look at that!  Look at that!  Look at that!”  

My dad’s quiet wonder at the beauty of Lake Tahoe.  His silent breathing in of the majesty of the mountains, lakes, trees, hills.  This brings healing  to my soul.