Day 12. Stop and Reflect

"Notice the gifts"

"Reflect on your present blessings of which every man has many, not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some." ~ Charles Dickens

During the rest of the Advent season, why not take a few moments every day -- maybe even more than once a day -- to make a quick list of seven 'gifts' for which you're grateful in the very moment you are writing them down. Don't ponder what to say ... let the things come up unbidden.

There is something about being aware of what you are thinking about in the present that shifts how we see them. For me, the blessings seem to be very near, and I begin to see how blessed, truly, I am every single moment of the day.

The more grateful we are for what we do have, the more the joy rises to the surface and gives us the strength we need for the rest of our day.