“Opening your eyes to more of the world around you can deeply enhance your gratitude practice.” ~ Derrick Carpenter

It’s so easy to get sucked up in the negative, I think.

Maybe it’s just me; maybe not. We overlook the positives. The things we take for granted. Blessings we forget to appreciate.

I’m sure most of us have heard the suggestion to make a gratitude list at some point in our lives.

Taking a moment to acknowledge what we are grateful for creates a shift in our brains, and we tend to find it easier (with practice) to notice, acknowledge, and appreciate more often—to invite more blessings.

After a depressing day, a simple gratitude list of only five things has lifted my mood a time or two.

But now, I’m taking that list a step further. Adding an extra ingredient to this practice adds more meaning and strength to the entire purpose—for me. It deepens the practice and enhances benefits.

The secret ingredient? Something so simple, I don’t know why I haven’t thought of it before (maybe because just getting myself to make a list was hard).

But here it is: reason.

When listing my gratitude, I’ve begun asking myself:

>> Why am I grateful for this thing? 

>> What makes it meaningful to me? 

>> And, if appropriate, how can I create more of this in my life?

Last night, I wrote that I was grateful for my daughter’s laugh. 

Why? I was here to witness it. And her laughter means she felt joy. I love that she felt joy.

What are you grateful for today? Hold space for the reason why.

Do you feel the depth?

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” ~ Melody Beattie