Gratitude Journal #10
Apparently, you can train your brain to be happier by keeping a gratitude journal, so I am giving it a go. My goal is post about 100 things I am grateful for over the course of the year. (This should average out to just a little over 2/week.) However, I am going to try and stay away from the standard family/friends/pets. Please know I absolutely am grateful for my family, friends, and pets. I would not have made it through the past couple of year without each of them. But if I am trying to train myself to be happier, then I want to start recognizing the smaller things in life that I am grateful for.
Last week, I was grateful for modern conveniences that make our lives so much simpler. This week, spring has truly hit the Seattle area, and I am grateful for those bits of nature that are still in our lives.
Gratitude Entry #20 – Bunny Rabbits & Raccoons
Every morning, I walk from the bus stop through campus to my
building. Right now it is spring, and with the change to DST, we are just past
dawn, in the first hour of morning light when I make my walk. And so, this week
I have seen bunnies and raccoons along with the normal geese, seagulls, and
ducks, as I make my way through campus. The bunnies are, of course, cute, but
generally in a hurry to get away from people, unless they are frozen in place.
The raccoons are the best. This week, I first saw one running across the wide grassy
lawn, from one stand of trees to another. He kept looking back over his
shoulder. When I got to where I had seen him come out of the bushes, there were
two other raccoons there. I looked at them and asked “Did you chase him away?”
One of them tossed it’s head and turned around, going back into the bushes. The
other ignored me entirely.
Gratitude Entry #21 – Cherry Blossoms
Our campus is known for it’s cherry blossoms. They bloom every year right around spring break. This year, they are in bloom during spring break, which means that while campus is not full of students, it is full of tourists and people who are trying to get professional pictures taken. This is true even in years when the skies are gray when the cherry blossoms are in bloom, but even more so when the weather is beautiful, like today.
Still, even with all these extra people on campus, it is a great joy to go take a walk around the quad (gotta start getting my steps back in), and enjoy the cherry blossoms.
