Gratitude Journaling

Coming out of the Thanksgiving holiday and heading into the holiday season, it's always on our minds to be grateful for what we have. As my school has committed to a culture-building initiative as part of our Sources of Strength program, we implemented a month of gratitude activities, one of which is a daily "Gratefulness Journal." Much has been written about the value and benefit of a regular, daily focus on gratitude; for example, check out this TED Talk on gratitude:

In writing my 21-day "Gratefulness Journal," here are some of the things I'm thankful for:

• Cookies & pie
• Cherry Creek High School and all it offers for me and my family
• Loving parents
• the right to vote in peaceful elections with smooth transfer of power
• dependable electricity and clean drinkable water
• hardworking dependable colleagues
• my students who are so easy to teach
• Jazz
• print journalism and daily newspapers
• satirists - Saturday Night Live
• art - abstract expressionism
• Hettie
• Post-it notes
• the seasons - snowy wintery Colorado mornings
• Greenwood Village Public Works
• safe air travel
• books
• JK Rowling and the Harry Potter books
• coffee
• Holiday songs
• First Bank pens
• Sudafed, Tylenol, & Advil
• people like Alex Honnold who push the limits
• doctors and nurses
• public libraries
• naps