The Power of Gratitude

My wife and I had the opportunity to travel to southern California to visit her sister and family. They have two kids who are growing like weeds and every time we see them I feel like they have grown a foot. Being the "outlaw" of the family I have the wonderful opportunity to play with the kids and be the fun Uncle so that the two sisters can catch up and have quality time together. The kids and I go to the park, ride our bikes, play baseball, swim in the pool, go for hikes, exercise, play on the playground, and have an absolute blast.

Each evening the entire family will try to have a meal together when their dad gets home from work. We try to make sure that everyone is around the table, our cell phones are off, and we simply enjoy each others company. We all sat down and said a prayer, dished up our food and began to wolf down our food as if we had played all day. About five minutes into our meal and conversation my 5 year old niece leans over to me and asks me the most wonderful questions for all to hear. "Uncle Ryan, What was the best part of your day?" Wow, what a perfect question. I sat for a moment to gather my thoughts and said, "Today has been the best part of my trip! We got to play tag on the playground, race our bikes around the park, and my all-time favorite part was playing launch and splash landing with the you kids!"

I then started to eat my food again and my niece leaned over to me and said, "Uncle Ryan, it's your turn to ask someone else around the table." Incredible. All of this is coming from our 5 year old niece. So I asked her brother who is 8 what his favorite part of his day was.

As we went around the table asking each other I began to think about how seldom in life we review the positive moments of our day. It is so easy to focus on the negative parts of our day that it is easy to fall into depression. We need to make a conscious effort to focus on the positive moments in our lives but also take the time to ask "what was the best part of your day?" and take that time to appreciate and listen to what our family, friends, and neighbors have to say. Being grateful for the gifts that we are given every day is the key to long-term happiness!