The 7-Day Happiness Challenge was profound. Writing about gratitude every morning for seven days increased my awareness of the negative chatter in my head and enabled me to more easily shift to positive thinking. It was a challenging week personally and professionally and yet this simple tool acted has a rudder while I navigated difficult waters. Because of this daily practice, I am a different person. Stronger,  wiser and oh yes, humbler.

Here is  a cherry picked version of my Happiness Journal.

I am grateful for:

My mom’s advice. “Eat healthy food, think happy thoughts and exercise regularly.” My sweet daughter Mira, who is full of ideas. For all the young people in my life who expand my perceptions and show me the future. 

For the abundant Huckleberries this fall. My home, my sweet home on top of a hill overlooking a blue bay where sometimes I see whales swimming. The Monterey Pines. Those gnarled, beautiful trees that give me so much joy when I walk in the woods.

The blueberries in my cereal. You dear reader, I am so thankful for your presence. The incredible joy of moving my body to music, my dad with his guitar and sweet voice and my mother’s dance.

I am thankful for this practice and how it is changing me. It teaches me to see the sacred in all life’s experiences and that love is not found in achievements but in celebrating others.

For this day and for every breath I take, I am grateful. It’s a great day to be alive!!

Namaste