Making Gratitude a Habit

As we approach Thanksgiving, it's time to think about, besides turkey, giving thanks. Although this is a special time for thanks, gratitude is something that should be a part of our everyday life. During the Friday night service last week, our Rabbi, Debra Orenstein, spoke about how to make gratitude a habit. One way that she suggested was to break your routine, which allows you to look at things in a different way. One example was traveling to another country -- it's so wonderful to be there, but once you get home how very wonderful your own bed, and familiar food, and familiar language is (check my blogs on visiting Japan to see how that works!) A closer to home example was to take a different route to work, giving you the opportunity to notice what is around you.

I work from my home office, which makes it hard to take a different route to work. However, most mornings, as I finish breakfast and go up to my second floor office, Charley, my two-year old rescue cat, follows me. He sits at the bottom of the stairs leading to my third floor bedroom and waits for me to notice (if I don't, he'll let out a small meow). At that point I'm expected to follow him upstairs, with him stopping to turn and look to make sure I'm behind him. Several head skritches and tummy rubs later, Charley's ready for his morning nap and I'm ready to go back to my computer. A chance to think about gratitude? Absolutely!

So, how are you going to make gratitude a habit?