No one told me that writing the biggest checks of my life would make me feel so grateful. This week, I made the third quarter tuition payment for college for our first-born. With each payment, I feel grateful on many levels. Grateful that our daughter is getting the opportunity and has the desire to attend college and is doing well academically and socially. Grateful for the good fortune, hard work, and smart choices that led to our ability to afford to send her to the university of her choice. Grateful for more than I could have imagined.
It is especially poignant for me because I attended college fully supported by multiple academic, leadership, and need-based scholarships. Making college tuition payments for our daughter reminds me how grateful I am for the forward-thinking and generous donors that made it possible for me to pursue my education. Thank you Terry Foundation, National Merit Scholarship Corporation, Ethyl Corporation, and many others. Perhaps another blog on that topic would be interesting?
Another reason I am grateful? We got to visit our daughter this week and see one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen.
Speaking of gratitude, I am a huge podcast fan and one of the best podcasts I have listened to this year is Oprah and Arthur Brooks discussing happiness and their book, Build the Life You Want. What are your favorite podcasts and where do you listen? I like to listen to podcasts on the Open Source app PocketCasts and preferably while on a long walk.
About 50 minutes into this episode, they discuss gratitude as a key tool. What works for me is to pause whenever I remember and list what I am grateful for (e.g. just breathing, health, love of my parents). It is best to write this down, but I often do it in my head in the car, on a walk, or just about anytime I think about it. In my lowest moments, I use this trick to change my focus and it works.
I hope to keep finding gratitude in surprising places. What makes you grateful that others might find surprising? Let’s find more in 2024!
TAMMIRA 