Being Thankful For Your Past: Why being thankful for my past was more beneficial than hiding from it Praising The Past: Why You Should Be Thankful For What You Left Behind

How to Appreciate What You Have and Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

Need some ideas to get you started? Here are  60 Things to Be Grateful For In Life Are you truly grateful for the good things in your life—or do you take them for granted?

International Peace Day "Violence cost the world nearly 10 billion last year. Seems like we should wage more peace than war."   Stephan Bauman Many people look at John Lennon's "Imagine" as a song that defines International Peace Day. Peace One Day Miniature Golf Day The Zany History of Mini Golf America’s Wackiest Mini-Golf Courses 10 of the Coolest Mini Golf Courses Ever Made The 15 Best Miniature Golf Courses World Gratitude Day The official beginning of World Gratitude Day was in  1965 at the East-West Center in Hawaii  at a Thanksgiving dinner honoring grantees hosted by Sri Chinmoy , a meditation guru.  As director of the United Nations Meditation Group, he suggested the idea as a globally unifying holiday.  Each person pledged to hold a gratitude gathering each September 21 in their own country.  The United Nations Meditation Group formally celebrated World Gratitude Day on September 21, 1977 at the New York Headquarters where Sri C...

To have a gratitude attitude is a gift; to get a gratitude attitude can be a challenge.  Sometimes it is easy, the gratefulness presents itself so clearly.  Other times you have to search for it.  I'm reminded of the verse in Isaiah that says there is treasure to be found in the darkness.  Sometimes gratefulness feels like that, hidden in the dark. For years I have said that I was grateful to God for the life he had given me but I meant the big things.  You know, the breathing, the heartbeat, things like that.  What I was missing in keeping a gratitude attitude was the key ingredient.  The seemingly mundane, the day in and day out that made up life.  To focus in on those ordinary things, oftentimes invisible to the naked eye and heart, builds a foundation of gratitude. Once we have a foundation of gratitude we start looking at life and living life a bit differently. We want other people to have gratitude attitudes and be filled the way we are...

{There's a preface to this story, click here to read it.} Wednesday, August 27 was my 40th birthday, the start of a new year and a new decade. Over the past few months I made a list of 40 specific random acts of kindness I wanted to do on my birthday. But let's be realistic - I couldn't do all 40 in one 24 hour period. I'm 40 now and worn out! I need to sleep! :)   --------> see? I had barely started and needed a nap! ha! So I started my random acts the afternoon of Tuesday, August 26.  I took as many pictures as I could of each act of kindness simply because I am always inspired by visuals.  (If you click on the picture it will enlarge for you)  Perhaps you will be as well? What's just ONE random act of kindness you could do this week? To pull off 40 acts of random kindness in a day and a half (and then some) you have to do some prep work. You can't just wake up one day and it happens.  About six months before my birthday I started making lists. Li...