For over a decade I’ve been keeping an online journal that I call my gratitude list. At least once or twice a week, I list all the things for which I am thankful. The days that I don’t write them down, I mentally make that list.

I create the lists for two reasons. 1) It reminds me that even on the bleakest days good things happen. 2) It keeps my attitude positive and on the lookout for things the good things that happen every day. In essence, I was following the Law of Attraction even before it was popular.

When I first started my journal, once a week I published a summary of that week's  gratitude lists to give friends hope and motivation to continue to move forward with their lives one moment at a time.

Here’s what I wrote in 1998. I randomly selected it from all my lists and just wanted to give you an example of what a sample gratitude list might look like.

Dear Gratitude Buddy:

This week I have a lot to be grateful for so I’m creating my list on today rather than waiting until Sunday. I'm also doing this early to remind myself that although I wasn't selected to go on to round three of the interviews for the career advisor position at Thunderbird, I have so much to be grateful for. Here’s my gratitude list for the week ending Friday, July 31, 1998.

A friend sent me an Avis Rental Car coupon for a free upgrade and a $20 discount that I'll be able to use next week when I go to Los Angeles. She did this after learning that I wouldn't be borrowing my mom’s car. My friend also graciously offered to lend me her car during my stay. When I declined, unbeknownst to me, she checked around to see if she could find a cheaper rate than the one I got. I'll now get $20 off the discounted rate that I secured and an upgrade thanks to her generosity of time and spirit. How wonderful!

When I went to Cellular One to have my phone repaired, I was able to get a brand new phone, 40 more free minutes and my new rate will be almost 10 dollars cheaper than what I'm now paying. What a deal!

I received an unanticipated $35 refund check for an overpayment that I made in 1996 which was just recently uncovered. That amount paid for the 2 books on establishing a consulting business that I ordered the previous week. Confirmation that I'm going in the right direction!

Friends have been helpful suggesting movers and offering to help in other ways as I plan to relocate within the next 30-60 days. (Note: My apartment was converting to a condo and I didn’t want to by it.)

I went to the library to get a schedule of classes offered by theScottsdale Parks and Recreation Department. They didn't have any brochures but I did find information about applying to serve on a State of Arizona Board or Commission. I called the number and am waiting for the application. I also called the Scottsdale Parks department and had them send me a schedule of their current classes as well as an application to teach one or more courses for them in January. This all happened because a friend went to the trouble to show me her class schedule and to suggest that I could teach classes that would be on interest to the community. I'm also grateful that I followed my intuition and took the necessary action.

A letter I sent to an acquaintance who's undergoing treatment for cancer arrived just when she needed it most. I was delighted since I sent it much later than I had wanted to. It was stamped and addressed and got buried under some papers on my end table for almost a week before I actually put it into the mailbox. Divine timing worked again!

I found out that I will have 60 rather than 30 days in which to find a new place to live. That means I have 2 more months at reduced rent (the sum total of which will actually pay for my registration for the TTI conference as well as my rental car when I go to LA).

I received a lovely card from friend who said how much she appreciated my being objective and coming from love as I helped her following her break-up with her boyfriend. It feels great to be able to help others even when I have challenges ("growth opportunities") in my own life.

Fast forward to today. 2008 and the first 5 months of 2009 have been challenging for me. What I went through in 1998 was child's play compared to what I've recently experienced. Now, to help me get through tough times, I often glance through gratitude lists from my past. The entries remind me that "this too shall pass," even though I may doubt it at the time. When I notice myself going into “negative” thinking (seeing only the dark clouds and overlooking the unseen benefit), I reread a few of my journal entries and remember that no day was entirely good or entirely bad, it contained both qualities. In retrospect, I'm able to see how what I may have labled as “bad” at the time was actually exactly what I needed to experience so I could be lead to “the good.”

In summary, somebody sent me the following gratitude list. The author of the list is unknown. I thought it was a wonderful example of a gratitude list so I’m ending today’s posting with it.  I hope you find it inspirational.

I am thankful for

...the mess to clean after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

...the taxes I pay because it means that I’m employed.

...the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat.

...the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking.

...all the complaining I hear about our government because it means we have freedom of speech.

...the lady behind me in church / synagogue who sings off key because it means that I can hear.

...the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby.

...weariness and aching muscles at  the end of the day because it means I have been  productive.

...a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.

...my huge heating bill because it means that I am warm.

...the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that I’m alive.