The Daily List

We just had the most wonderful Thanksgiving I can remember. All the people I love the most were gathered around my table, celebrating the things for which we are so grateful and blessed. I am hyper aware lately that things will change at some point in my future and that there will be a Thanksgiving when some of those faces will no longer sit at my table, telling stories, cracking jokes, and filling my heart with love. I was intentionally present and soaked up every single moment like a thirsty sponge, tucking those precious memories away for another day.

Lately, after my morning meditation, I’ve been making a list of the current and most noteworthy aspects of my life and then ranking them from 1-10. Since I’ve been deliberately focusing on those that make me the happiest, I am noticing that the truly bothersome things are quickly fading into the background and the nicer and often more subtle things are rising to the foreground of my thoughts, and consequently, I feel better and better.

It feels like tuning my guitar when I was younger. A little bit on this string, a little more on that one until the music was pleasing and harmonious. That’s what this daily practice feels like, a tuning of my perspective. I’m not pushing the unwanted things away in my mind like I was before, but rather I’m replacing them altogether with what’s wanted, what’s pleasing.

This isn’t a new concept to me, but it is the first time I’ve had a daily practice around it, and I’m amazed at how good it is making me feel every day. I like it!

It seems like a small, almost insignificant, thing to think about or even write about: feeling good. But, isn’t that what we hope for—generally and consistently feeling good, liking what is happening to us and what we are experiencing? The older I get, the more I don’t think it’s a “little thing” at all. It may be the most important thing for which to strive.

This week, consider a practice of pushing the things in your life that feel good to the top of your thought list. Focus on what is working and what feels good to dream about, contemplate, and work toward. The more you focus on that, the more of it you will notice is flowing into your experience. At the very least you’ll string together days and days of feeling good. That alone is worth the effort.

“You’ve got to start romanticizing your life. You’ve got to start believing that your morning commute is cute and fun, that every cup of coffee is the best you’ve ever tasted, that even the smallest and most mundane things are exciting and new. You have to, because that’s when you truly start living. That’s when you look forward to every day.”

~ Martha Blankenship