Gratitude

My boyfriend and I made a quick stop at an apple orchard on our way to Thanksgiving dinner at the cottage, this past weekend, and the scene there could not have been nore picturesque.

A few weeks ago, I came across this blog post, and began a brief morning ritual on my way to work each day: counting my lucky stars. In addition to getting my daily scoop of news from The Skimm, and listening to a smidgen of the Invisibilia podcast - both integral parts of my morning routine - I now list things in my life that I am grateful for, as I head to work. There are items that come up daily: my family, my love, my health, while other items join the list on an ad hoc basis; catching the bus that morning, enjoying a restful sleep the night before, gaining fashion inspiration from Olivia Pope on the numerous episodes of Scandal I Netflixed the previous evening.

Practising gratitude daily has made me feel happier and less susceptible to stress, and has also made me more aware of how fortunate I am, outside of those five minutes of grateful thinking each morning. I read somewhere once that one learns to love by loving, and I think it's the same with learning to be grateful; one learns to be thankful by embracing gratitude on a daily basis.

This past Thanksgiving weekend, I found myself sitting on the end of a wooden dock staring out at a sapphire lake as crimson and golden leaves fluttered down onto the water's surface. My love held me close, as we sipped coffee and breathed in the crisp autumn air with the sun casting shadows on our faces. I felt so much gratitude in that moment, and I know I will think back to that moment each morning this week, when I'm counting my lucky stars, my blessings.

If you're reading this, I am so grateful that you thought my blog interesting or important enough to wander over to this page and skim the text I've typed. Thank you, and happy Thanksgiving.

From head to toe: Wonderland sunglasses, Wilfred Free poncho from Aritzia, JCrew bracelet, Gap jeans, Shoe the Bear patent loafers.