The smiles and good mornings from people who work in stores or who pass me while I’m going for a walk. The gifts of lessons whenever I see individuals who have medical conditions or difficult situations and yet have positive attitudes and appreciate life. I realize that gratitude is the key. The gifts from those here in this forum. I don’t know individuals personally but their contributions open my eyes, let me see things from another angle..

I express creativity by playing guitar and keyboards. A couple of years ago after playing keyboards for a long time, I decided to take the plunge and self teach the guitar. The daily time that I put in to practice is a means to create music, to channel my inner self to positivity. The journey reminds me of the life journey we all have to self improve, learn and accept our capabilities..

Having the opportunity to experience being healthy and alive.. as i get older And look amongst my friends, many are denied both..

By not over reacting to the negative actions or words of others and being observant and empathetic to why they are the way they are at this moment. By doing so, I can adjust my views of them, understand their reasons and focus more on their positive attributes. This in turn can also reduce my own internal stresses and anxieties..

Everyday I try to remind myself that I am part of the universe. Even though I am such a tiny part in it, I do contribute somehow but how the world functions. By making positive contributions, I have an affect on how the world operates..

Just by being there, listening, offering a hug , praying for them..

Gratefulness allows me to concentrate on the positive things that I have in my life and to lean to accept fact how lucky I am compared to others. It also gives me empathy towards those who have less and learn to accept the bad life experiences as well as good ones and love being alive..

So far I’ve received love from within myself and the gift is how strong and resilient I’ve been as a survivor in a difficult life.

Being depressed or anxious is not a wrong but I had a tough day yesterday. Today is a new start.. a new day so I will focus on gratitude and the present and try to accept things..

Due to covid, having the opportunity to meet a hidden gem in person has been difficult over the past while. I must say though that meeting people through mediums such as Gratefulness. .Org has allowed me to see things in a different perspective through their daily submissions. I consider everyone as gems who provide hope, self- .reflection aand support.

I feel humbled whenever I go outside at night and look up at the heavens and see the thousands and thousands of lights in the sky. Recently I went whale watching in the lower St. Lawrence river . We saw so many whales but what humbled me most was the pod of humpbacks who we followed and got close up to. Their immense size, their intelligence was amazing.

I cherish my first sip of coffee, the dawn as the horizon lightens up to greet me, my morning meditation, prayers ritual that I’ve adopted over the past couple of years, the ability to be active in my older age, having food on the table, being retired and having the opportunity to do what I want, when I want

By looking around and focusing on what I have rather than what is happening to or around me. I’ll attempt to look at the bad times as being life lessons and understand that life is made up of ups and downs.. nothing is perfect… forever good times is not realistic . How we react to them and acceptance makes us appreciate more the good things happening.

By praying and setting an example to others how much I care. I can do this by my posts I put on social media and my continued support of organizations such as Amnesty International and helping my friends by being there for them when needed. By doing so, care spreads to others which in turn spreads to more people.

❤️

🙏 thank you!

Yes Great Danes are marvellous animals. We owned two at separate times. Their description as « Gentle Giants » is appropriate.

Prayers to you. I am sure that things will work out for you.