“As with all commandments, gratitude is a description of a successful mode of living. The thankful heart opens our eyes to a multitude of blessings that continually surround us. James E. Faust

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” Melody Beattie

These two lovely meditations on gratitude come to us via https://herondance.org, a site that offers lovely artwork and reflections on living in harmony with nature. These quotes caught my attention today because I have been thinking a lot lately about gratitude—and even more, about appreciation.

To me, appreciation is a very active way of responding to the world and our work with gratitude. When we appreciate something—the beauty of a flower, or a day’s work well done—we are expressing gratitude in the moment, in a lively, engaging way.

And there are so many things to appreciate throughout our day!

We can appreciate the day itself, coming to us fresh and new, full of possibilities.

We can appreciate the chance to do work that we love—to let our minds and hearts explore new realms or see existing ones with new eyes.

We can appreciate the people who are part of our writing “tribe”—those who encourage and support our writing life.

We can appreciate the opportunities we have throughout the day to re-energize and renew ourselves by pausing for meals or taking a nature break or even a restorative nap.

When we take these moments to appreciate the simple, little things that nourish us and refill our creative wells, we open ourselves to receive. Thankful hearts are open hearts. And open hearts spark creativity. Write on!

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