Gratitude Times 108

Maybe five years ago, I took several classes from Rev. Guy Williams. We were talking about gratitude and several folks stated they had enjoyed Oprah’s idea, which others also shared, about listing three things we were grateful for each morning.

Guy upped the ante considerably by challenging us to write a list of 100 things we’re grateful for every day for a couple of weeks. I was astounded, privately sure I’d never be able to list that many. But I trust Guy and so I started.

My first attempt seemed to take hours. I was grateful that he had made it clear even little things, like petting the cat counted. That got me two right there!

Once I’d made the first list, the second came more easily. Listing or counting out that many things I can be grateful is a quick way to move me from any bad mood to a positive.

Eventually my practice with this become 108 things simply because it was easiest to count them out using a mala – sort of a Buddhist rosay that has 108 beads.

I’ve made it a tradition to list 108 things I’m grateful for every Thanksgiving season. Here’s this years list, which I do ‘live’ as it were on screen. The only prep I’ve done is to think about this a bit during this morning’s meditation.

1. kittens
2. cats
3. computers
4. electricity
5. the internet
6. ergonomic keyboard
7. my watch which shows Snicker bars rather than the moon
8. the canyon I live on
9. my office which overlooks the canyon
10. the deck which also overlooks the canyon
11. the rug in my living room
12. my meditation cusions
13. the bell I ring for meditation
14. the two statues of Avalokiteshvara or Kuan Yin I have
15. my keyboard (music)
16. my bed
17. running water
18. hot water
19. the gas that my stove uses
20. my car
21. the gas it uses
22. 4 tires
23. the car’s stout engine
24. my son Steve
25. my son Mike
26. my daughter Linda
27. Emily, a granddaughter
28. Valerie, a granddaughter
29. Ben, a grandson
30. Cole, a grandson
31. the hawks in the canyon
32. Devon, my neighbor
33. Megan and Josh, my neighbors
34. Pablo, Dianne and their kids, more neighbors
35. my landlord
36. Cait
37. Carol
38. John L.
39. Seisen
40. Ecko
41. Nathan
42. Ando
43. Nancy
44. Diana
45. Rebecca
46. Kozan
47. Becky
48. Dancers of the Third Age photo
49. prayer flags
50. my desk, messy as it is
51. my kneeling chair
52. my printer
53. sewing machine
54. phone
55. iPad
56. wireless router
57. room air conditioner which actually cools the whole cottage I live in
58. heaters
59. refrigerator
60. food in the fridge and cupboards
61. my credit union
62. Trader Joe’s
63. Sweetwater Zen Center
64. Awakening the Dreamer
65. City Heights Library
66. Public radio
67. that Obama won!
68. that Filner won (mayor in San Diego
69. eucalyptus trees
70. my neighbor’s chicken
71. my neighbor’s rooster
72. the Dharma
73. Soto Zen
74. palm trees
75. roses
76. shrimp
77. lettuce
78. spinach
79. organic food
80. olive oil
81. balsamic vinegar
82. goat cheese
83. goats!
84. elephants
85. tigers
86. lions
87. salmon swimming free
88. starfish – particularly blue ones
89. sail boats
90. boats in general
91. the oceans
92. Fiji
93. Tonga
94. Hawaii
95. Brisbane
96. crows
97. jays
98. finches
99. parrots
100. snakes (at a distance)
101. pandas
102. opossums
103. raccoons
104. Joanna Macy
105. Lori Widmer
106. 5 Buck Forum members
107. Makada and the World Beat Center
108. Balboa Park

And I could go on!

Wishing you the best in this holiday season.

Join me with a list of what you’re grateful for on your blog if you like.

Write well and often,

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