1. Count Your Blessings

"Oh duh."  --  was what I thought after reading this was the first suggestion on how to be happier.

"I knew that."

I sing about it in church.  I give thanks when I pray.  As far as I'm concerned, I know I have a lot of blessings to be grateful for, so that makes me a grateful person right?

Well, like I said I would, I put this "way to happiness" to the test.  And I realized that the only thing I spend my time counting are how many minutes I have in a day and how many calories I have in a meal.  As far as blessings are concerned, I know I have them, but a census of them is very rarely taken.

So I knew I had a few ways to go about "counting my blessings".  I could sit down at my laptop for an hour or so and spit out a blog entry listing all those blessings I hold dear to my heart.  Nah, not for me.  I could simply sit in a corner and meditate about each and every blessing in my life and let the power and energy distill upon my soul.  Pass.  I could jot all my blessings down in my journal.  I don't want to do that either.  Then I began to wonder if I am just an ungrateful noob because I didn't feel like "counting my blessings".  Fortunately, over the course of two days, I had some moments where very specific blessings were realized and counted.  Allow me to share some of them with you.

Blessings I Counted:

1.  I am blessed with ears that work.

On Sunday I had the great pleasure of accompanying my Aunt to her family ward.  There was a musical number.  And that musical number was simply beautiful.  And different.  Two very talented and well rehearsed gentlemen played a number by Tchaikovsky on the violin and piano.  And despite all the worries and thoughts I may have had circulating through my head, I was able to let go for a few minutes and bask in the glory of ear lobes and ossicles that work.  It was such a blessing to be able to hear and enjoy those talents shared.  

2.  I am blessed with kids (that aren't my own).

My cousins' kids.  I get to play with them on Sundays when they come over for dinner.  And although their energy and noise and clinging and running and yelling and pinching and pulling and hollering can leave me wanting to run away and hide, I'm surprised by how much I've grown to love playing with them.  They make me feel like a million bucks when I hear them come in the house and the first thing they say is, "Is Kristen here?"  They even draw me pictures when I'm sick.

3.  I am blessed with literacy.

Have you ever wondered how different your life would be if you actually couldn't read and understand the words on this computer screen?  Well, to say the least, it would be quite different.  I'm so grateful that I can read, but most of all, I'm grateful that I can write.  I love to journal.  It's my therapy.  Nothing compares to picking up a pen, putting it to a clean page, and then letting your thoughts take shape and form.  When I'm having a tough time in my life, I buy a handsome new journal.  And then I take a new stance or position on how I write my entries.  Say hello to my newest journal, inspired by "way to happiness number one".  I plan to sincerely start counting my blessings.

4.  And best of all, I have someone to lean on.

I've never been one to believe in all that "soul mate" hocus-pocus.  Life is more real than that.  "You choose the one you love and then you love the one you chose."  Things don't get more real than that.  But then the unthinkable happened.  I fell in love.  And not just the sappy, head-over-heels kind.  Real love.  And it turns out that real love is a lot like finding your "soul mate".  Funny how that works.  Jon, I lean on you.  Consider yourself a blessing I count everyday.

Do I feel happier?

A little.

Stay tuned for "Way to Happiness" number two.