When things get me down or my forward energy runs low, I go for a “gratitude check”. Simply I look around and think “what do I have to be grateful for?” An answer always comes.

Sometimes it is what I see in front of me: the sky, flowers, my hands or a little child. Sometimes it is what I hear: the birds, others talking, or crickets at sundown. Sometimes it is what I feel: the joy beyond the pain, the breeze flowing past or the dirt beneath my feet. Sometimes it is what I smell: fresh popcorn, an apple or the trace of perfume from a woman who passed through the same space a short while before.  When I can get my mind still for just a little bit, and look inwardly, gratitude always rolls down on me.

Life is a gift we’re given each and every day.
Dream about tomorrow, but live for today.
To live a little, you’ve got to love a whole lot.
Love turns the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Life’s a journey always worth taking.
Take time to smell the roses… and tulips…
and daffodils… and lilacs… and sunflowers…
Count blessings like children count stars.
The secret of a happy life isn’t buried in a
treasure chest… it lies within your heart.
It’s the little moments that make life big
Don’t wait. Make memories today.
Celebrate your life!
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A “gratitude check” is a remedy for what brings me down. When I bring gratitude to the surface, it centers me and brings be back to “now”: this present moment. It is here I find the only time and place I can experience actual happiness:  “NOW”. Problems seem a little smaller and trouble feels more temporary. Gratitude is its own reward!

There is no greater difference between men than between grateful and ungrateful people.
R.H. Blyth