Daily Gratitude: “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”

This is a great way to practice gratitude for all life’s gifts. You don’t even need to know who planted the tree you’re sitting under. Just acknowledging that you didn’t make it to where you see now by yourself is a major key.

If you look around you right now, you’ll see so many things that make your life doable and comfortable. Stop and say “thank you” for each and every one of those things. Without the person who invented it built or delivered them for you, you’d be out in the cold (or heat) on your own.

The roads you drive on, even with their potholes. The cars you’re driving. The places you’re going. The clothes you’re wearing. The air conditioning blowing on your face. The coffee in the cup holder. The cardboard or plastic cup the coffee is in.

See how many things you can spot that help make your life easier. Do this all the time but especially when you’re feeling down or things don’t seem to be going right. Just remember that they don’t seem to be going right because they arent going the way you expect them to; not that they aren’t going right in the grand scheme of your life. You are not all knowing. Things happen and it’s our job to think about whomever and whatever planted the tree that got us sitting here in the shade.

Be grateful even if you don’t know what the outcome will be. It will be all right.