A Gratitude List

Many years ago, I made a list of 100 things for which I was grateful.

As we are now coming up on Christmas, I thought I would revisit this old list and update it.

Making the original list was pretty easy at the beginning, but as the list grew longer I really had to think to come up with more things and people to add. I finally did complete the list of 100 items, and it was a good experience that forced me to really think about all the blessings in my life. 

Some people may not like the word 'blessings' due to its religious connotation, but I have yet to come up with another word that denotes the same thing.

I think doing a gratitude list of any number of items is a good exercise from time to time. It doesn't matter whether the list is five, 10, 50 or 100 items long. I believe it is the exercise itself that is of greatest importance.

My updated list is below.

Things For Which I Am Grateful (in no special order)

1. my dogs Jenny and Jett
2. close friends
3. my blue eyes
4. my photographer’s eye
5. classical music
6. smooth jazz
7. leopards
8. mountains
9. New Mexico
10. the beauty of nature
11. reading
12. my writing talent
13. fresh peaches from my yard
14. fresh strawberries
15. grilled salmon
16. books
17. time
18. golden retrievers
19. terriers
20. mutts
21. blue skies
22. Arizona’s red rocks
23. continuing to grow
24. my wonderful bed
25. abundant sunshine
26. our amazing planet
27. travel
28. the smell of a pine forest
29. air conditioning
30. fireplaces
31. fresh, crisp mountain air
32. abundance
33. freedom
34. sunflowers
35. carnations
36. low humidity
37. the high desert
38. elephants
39. wolves
40. my fruit trees
41. rediscovering myself
42.my Kindle
43. time to read

44. sunsets

45. Native American jewelry
46. this blog
47. good knees after more than 30 years of running
48. hot showers
49. my sense of humor
50. my warm house
53. being able to speak Russian
55. chocolate
56. black walnuts
57. salted cashews
58. warm chocolate chip cookies
59. my NASA career
60. outdoor showers while visiting Africa
61. warm, sunny days
62. warm clothing
63. living in Moscow for 3-1/2 months
64. soft, warm sweatshirts
65. fresh-squeezed orange juice
66. family
67. friends
68. education
69. solitude
70. abundance
71. my independent spirit
72. flannel pajamas
73. Coke Zero in a can
74. beautiful sunrises
75. making friends in other countries
77. vacations
78. my healthcare team
79. being retired
80. daisies along the highway
81. a good night’s sleep
82. waking up every morning
83. a reliable car
84. faith
85. resilience
86. healthy mind
87. healthy body
88. opportunities to develop new facets of myself
89. inner strength
90. willingness to take risks
91. hope
92. optimism
94. life’s lessons learned
95. being in control of how I feel
96. love
97. serenity
98. rainbows
99. animal rescue groups
100. forgiveness

The world is currently filled with hatred and evil that often seem to have taken over everything. Wars. Conflicts. Gun violence. Poverty. Hunger. Suffering. Crime of all sorts. Hatred.

There are many times when all the hurt and hatred in the world are overwhelming. I get so many appeals to donate to this cause or that. I cannot give to all of them, and I am unable to give enough to really make a difference. Sometimes it seems hopeless.

But I give what I can to my top 12 organizations working to make the world, or some small corner of it. a better place.

That's all I can do. And I guess that is enough.