I spent quite a bit of time today, staring out the passenger window of the car - enveloped in my mind, thoughts and feelings. It never ceases to amaze me how life always comes in waves. There is either practically NO tide, or there is a freakin' tidal wave. So much has happened in this last month and sometimes, I just need a moment to stare blankly into space moving past me in order to try and process it all.

I understand that we are ever evolving beings (well, we should be anyway...) and our lives are ever changing too. This is how we learn, grow and (ideally) become the person we are meant to be - which then imparts fragments of that journey, knowledge and experience to others... perhaps our children, perhaps friends or perhaps even family members. From that point forward, I suppose they take from it what they will, and leave the rest.

It is easy to make that decision when the information shared with you is to some extent "generic" but it is not always that easy to let go of the negatives when it holds a emotional or psychological connection to you and your life experience. Sometimes, it can try and hang around in your mind like a bad stain on a shirt and finding a way to shake it off and remove its power over you becomes the challenge. This is often no easy task... but if and when you do manage to get it right, it can offer the richest of reward in terms of self acceptance and acceptance in general.

I am of the firm belief that the habit of practicing gratitude on a daily basis is the key to shifting our lives in a positive direction. This is not only the expression of gratitude for the positive things in our lives, but also for the challenges which we are often faced with.

But sometimes, we can get wrapped up in our day to day existence and agenda, and it is not that we aren’t grateful, but rather that we simply forget to actually verbalise it or take the time to offer it a moment of dedication even in thought.

It is also true that surrounding yourself with the positive attitudes and mind-set of others, that it has a ripple effect on yours too…

So for ALL of us, including myself, I have decided to start this #gratitudetrain. We all spend a good portion of our lives here browsing through our Steemit feeds, so why not build a positive habit in the process. I think it will be great to share something every day that we are grateful for in our lives, no matter how big or small it may be.

Whether it is a new career path, a new hobby, an achievement of your child, a new relationship, a challenge overcome or simply a new pair of shoes… it doesn’t matter! There is without question… ALWAYS something we can take a moment to be grateful for!

Step 1.
So starting today, in the comments section of #gratitudetrain post No. 1 – write something that you are grateful for in your life and start it with the number… as in if this is the first time you are sharing on the #gratitudetrain, then write the number “1.” And then state what you are grateful for.

Step 2.
Keep a record of your #gratitudetrain expressions shared in the comments somewhere in a word doc or such.

Step 3.
When you reach 30 – then publish a post on your own profile and be sure to use the #gratitudetrain tag or to tag me @jaynie in the post.

As simple as that!

The idea of this being, that not only will you develop a healthy and positive habit but at the end of 30 days when you share your own post, you will be able to reflect back and realise, just how MUCH GOODNESS there is in your life!