Becoming Grateful Day 10: Use a Reminder Rock

GRATITUDE ROCK

We're ten days into our Becoming Grateful series and I'm feeling more and more each day that my eyes are being opened to all the blessings that abound in my life. But there are still moments that come during the day that cloud my ability to think gratefully. Most of those moments come when driving. If you're like me, you need something easy to help keep you focused throughout the day on looking for the small things to be thankful for. 

How about a reminder rock? When I was in Young Women's as a teenager, I made a prayer rock to keep near my bed as a reminder to start and end my days with prayer. This idea is similar, but instead of using it to remind you to think gratefully at a specific time, try thinking of something grateful every time you touch your rock. If you choose a small pebble-sized stone, it'll be easy to keep in your purse or pocket. Each time you reach into your pocket, you'll feel your gratitude rock and be reminded to look for something you are thankful for. It's a pretty basic tool but you'll be amazed at how powerful it can be to keep remembering to look for all the good in your life. It will help you focus your mind on gratitude while you're at the office, reaching for extra change at the store, driving, or when doing your laundry. 

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.

           -Denis Waitley

My nephew came up to me the other day with a rock he had found and told me it was a real crystal. I suppose the shiny specks in the mostly gray rock did make it look like a crystal. He asked how much I thought it was worth. I responded that I wasn't quite sure. He confidently told me it would be worth at least $5,000, because diamonds are worth a million. Then he brought me a smaller version of his "crystal" and said I could have it. I let him know I was so excited he would let me have one of his crystals. This is now going to be my reminder rock. It's only about the size of a penny so it will fit perfectly in my pocket.  

Get your entire family involved in this one. Have a small rock or pebble for each person in your family. You can buy engraved ones online, decorate your own, or just grab any old pebble outside.It would be fun to share with each other some of the moments when you were reminded to be thankful and what you thought of with everyone at the end of the day. Leave any experiences you have with this in our comments section!