There is always, always, always something to be thankful for.

I suppose the title says it all- "30 Blessings". I set myself a challenge to keep me aware of all the good that's happening around me on a daily basis, so as not to get lost in personal anxiety or communal negativity. I decided to journal at least one blessing that happens to me each day for one full month- hence 30 blessings. So what was the catalyst that brought this on?


A month or so ago just after the holidays, I was in the kitchen helping my wife clean up and I noticed a small trinket on the counter that I never paid attention to before. The inscription read: "There is always, always, always something to be thankful for." After reading it I grunted under my breath, "huh", as if it was some new profound revelation that I had never heard of before. Actually, it hit home and made me reflect on my life and especially the past few months and how negative I have been over a number of things that have happened in my life recently. I had faced some difficult challenges with my business and my personal life, and I was sinking into a depression that was mounting daily. Perhaps I will share a few of them in a later post, but for now let me stay on point.

I decided to give this little catch phrase a try, so I stood there in the kitchen for a moment, closed my eyes and purposely set my mind to come up with at least one blessing that I could recognize for that day. Something, anything, grand or simple that I could embrace as a noticeable blessing just for that day. Well, it didn't take but a few seconds and I had my blessing that day. I closed my eyes again for a moment and I thanked God for the blessings in my life and especially the one for that particular day- I was alive! Many people around the world did not wake up that morning and no longer had the blessing of life, but I did. I know that may sound a little cliché, but I had something that no dead person had... an opportunity to live out another day and either make it great or complain all day long. It was in that moment that I knew I needed to change my focus.

That revelation put me in a frame of mind to be more aware on a daily basis of the little blessings that happen each and every day- and to be thankful for them. I have been trying to make it a point every day to be thankful for at least one blessing every day. Maybe it's my own penance for having such a terrible attitude over the past few months, but I feel it's important for me to stay focused on the good and not get overwhelmed with the bad. It's kind of like the glass being half full and not half empty. Or like trying to see the positive in everything; the light at the end of the tunnel is not a speeding freight train barreling down on me, maybe it really is a shimmer of hope. Crazy right?

So, realizing that I am most likely not the only person in the world who struggles with trying to stay positive in the midst of heartache, trouble and the pressures of life, I wanted to create a daily journal of the blessings that I experience each day, so as not to forget just how blessed I truly am; and maybe through my own experience and journal, others may also start to recognize the blessings happening to them on a daily basis that we all, most likely have taken for granted. I know there are the obvious blessings that we all share daily- life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but that's not what I am referring to here. Those are truly blessings that we all share and I do not want to diminish their importance, but I want to focus on the individual blessings that were designed today just for me- no one else. I would imagine that each of us can find at least one custom designed blessing just for us- that is if we look hard enough.

In a perfect world we would all wake up to a blessing first thing in the morning to start our day. However, I am a realist and I know that sometimes we can go all day long struggling and then just before the stroke of midnight something happens that adds a silver lining to the otherwise rough day. Knowing this, I have decided to write about yesterday's blessing each day. That way I can be sure that I have allowed all the blessings to come to me in that 24-hour period without jumping the gun.

So, with that said let me share with you yesterday's blessing.

I had a scheduled dentist appointment for a routine cleaning in the morning. This time of year is normally slow for our business so I am constantly aware of our funds and how much to spend. I arrived at my appointment and had the cleaning. The dentist happens to be a friend of mine and a few days earlier I had written an article for him for a local publication at his request. After my appointment he came to me and told me that my cleaning was no charge because I had written the article for him. I was a little surprised but touched by his generosity. The bill was twice what I was going to charge him for the article and I told him so. He didn't waiver- he simply said "we're all set." I thanked him and immediately I said a silent thank you to The Lord for this gift- this blessing. This was not a generic blessing for all people on this day- this was a custom designed gift on that day just for me. This was my own personal daily blessing. It's kind of humbling when you think about it.

Of course, there were probably multiple blessings for the rest of the day that went unnoticed, but I had my blessing for the day- and that was all that mattered for the moment. I hope you also had the opportunity today to recognize at least one blessing that happened to you and own it as your own custom designed gift for the day. Let's keep counting.