Gratitude Monday: You'll fall asleep

 

Today’s Advent song is about gratitude, which is appropriate for Gratitude Monday. It’s not specifically a Christmas or Advent piece, but it was featured in a Christmas movie, and written by Irving Berlin, which is good enough for me.

“CounYour Blessings” reminds us that we do much better to remember how much in our lives is good, and to do that especially when the not-good seems to overwhelm us. It’s why I have made the practice of gratitude a conscious part of my daily life, and I’ve found (as have had a whole bunch of studies) that it really does help.

For example: Saturday's laundry/cleaning day for me, and most of my focus is inside. But right around 1700, as I was about to toss out one final handful of seed for the ground feeding birds, I saw this in the sky. It was glorious, and definitely a blessing. An unexpected grace. And I am big-time grateful for it.

This time of year in particular, with all the holiday winding up, all the focus on closing out the fiscal year, all the high, impossible expectations of what should be…pulling back and naming all the graces in our lives brings real peace and joy. And maybe a good night’s sleep.

So, here’s Diana Krall singing “Count Your Blessings.”