Don’t focus on what you’re grateful for. Focus on what you take for granted.

It’s been over 6 months since I’ve posted. There, I said it (or wrote it) out loud.

Deep breath, Chanie.

It started with a busy summer, and then an even busier start to the school year. The holidays came, school got in the way, and there was just never a good time to stop and write. I kept pushing it off until it became the elephant in the room. (The proverbial room in my head, that is.) I’m reminded of the famous quote – “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” I was busy, all right. With good and wonderful things, of course. But I stopped writing. The problem with getting out of a routine is that the more you stay out of it, the harder it is to get back in.

My blog is my way of slowing down and taking stock of where I’m at – life moves at a breakneck speed, and writing allows me to slow it down a bit, by focusing on putting words to paper. I need to get back to it, and I plan to. Consider this my Thanksgiving resolution (is that a thing?). I’m putting it in black and white, in hopes that it will help me stick with it. I will publish one blog post a week, even if it’s not the best, or the most profound.

Here’s my first attempt.

I’ve been taking yoga now for almost 3 years. I have noticed that for me, yoga can be more spiritual than going to synagogue. There is something about focusing on the slow and steady movements of my body, coupled with the mantras and music of my teacher, that crystallize what’s really important for me.

She said something today that really resonated with me: This Thanksgiving, don’t focus on what you’re grateful for. Focus instead on what you take for granted. When she said it, a wash of realization came over me. Every day, I’m so grateful for the big gifts in my life – my kids, my family, my job. But when I take it to a much more granular level, and instead focus on what I take for granted, my eyes are opened to so much more that is going right in my life.

So here’s a bit of my list, that I’m publishing today because maybe my list will help you come up with your own:

My hands – They work the way I want them to. I can play a song on the piano, I can brush my hair and brush my teeth. I can hold a glass of cool water, I can type these words, I can hug my family.

My legs – I can walk up stairs, I can run, I can dance, I can feel the ground underneath my feet, the warm concrete of the sidewalk and the cool grass.

My eyes – I can see. I can get lost in the pages of a book, the same way I could when I was ten years old, hiding under my covers. I can see my son’s expression when he tells me he loves me. Can you believe it??? My 12-year old son still tells me he loves me. Sometimes he even lets me hug and kiss him. Praise the Lord!

My ears – I can hear. I can hear the ding of the dryer telling me the laundry is done, or my daughter crying when she gets hurt. I can hear music that I dance to, or sing along to. So while we’re at it….

My voice – I use my voice every day to talk to my kids, to my husband, and to teach. I can’t appreciate the magnitude of this magnificent gift enough.

Clean water – I can open my tap and drink cool, clean water. It quenches my thirst, hydrates me, and brings life to my weary body throughout the day. Not to mention it keeps my migraines at bay.

A headache-free day – I am grateful for these, but often take them for granted. A headache-free day is a gift from G-d. The colors I see are brighter, the sounds clearer, and the world around me a better place. I don’t even notice how many of these pass me by until I wake up one day with a migraine.

Food to eat – It’s funny how you don’t think about food until you don’t have it, right? It’s the same way with a lot of things, I suppose.

My loved ones – my husband, my children, siblings and parents, my friends that I have reconnected with over the last year. This is a big one, and I know I can’t do it justice here. That’s not the point of this post though.

It’s to remind myself not what I’m grateful for, but what I take for granted. That is what I’ll be thinking about this Thanksgiving. Thanks, Robyn, for helping me put it all in perspective this year.