Gratitude GRAVY #2

I think we all probably are a little guilty of living a drive-by life. We have drive-by conversations with our loved ones, we speed through our day, plow through our inboxes, rush through our to-do list and then we count down until the weekend.

We tend to breeze right past a whole lot of what we could be grateful for in the present.
That's one of the beautiful benefits of gratitude. Gratitude makes us stop, recognize, acknowledge and appreciate whatever good is happening right in front of us.

As one of my favorite authors, Anne Lamott, so beautifully puts it, to appreciate life, you just have to be open for business. 

Gorgeous, amazing things come into our lives when we are paying attention: mangoes, grandnieces, Bach, ponds … Astonishing material and revelation appear in our lives all the time. Let it be. Unto us, so much is given.

We just have to be open for business. 
-Anne Lamott, Help, Thanks, Wow

Our lives might be swirling,...

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#GratitudeGRAVY day 1

Consider the expression, "thank you". We've said it a million times. It's a habitual response. We say thank you for everything. Thanks, thank you, TY, Thx, sometimes we throw out a folded hands emoji and call it a day .

We speak it, we text it, we demand our kids say it, but do we mean it?
It's a knee-jerk generalized response. Conditioned by societal norms and Miss Manners. But as it's tossed around for everything, we become desensitized to the true power of experiencing and expressing gratitude.

Let's be real, should the same word be used to convey the same level of sincerity when someone politely holds the door open for us at a coffee shop as when someone holds our hand in the hospital?

Ummm probably not.

But in lieu of rewriting the English language and inventing a new vocabulary, let's decide that when someone does us a solid, we'll add...

There's nothing like having a police officer unload your luggage from the back of a patrol car at a gas station to remind you of why it's important to thank a stranger.

A week ago, we were at the tail end of a 3 hour road trip to the airport from our mountain town, driving down hill at 75 mph when our car's electrical system COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN amidst busy rush-hour Denver traffic.

As the dashboard went from "every engine light, warning light on" red to complete darkness, we contemplated using the nearby runaway truck ramp. Luckily, my husband's skillful coasting took the car just a tiny bit further to a small triangular median between the onramp and the highway to pull over. Fortunately, we were alive, but the car was now completely dead.

To say this was scary and dangerous and a terrible way to start the Thanksgiving week is a gross understatement.

It was too dangerous to even open a car door to get out of the car, nearly impossible for an Uber to pick...