Photo Journal/Weekly Photo Challenge: Thankful

“…my obsession with gratefulness. I can’t stop. Just now, I press the elevator button and am thankful that it arrives quickly. I get onto the elevator and am thankful that the elevator cable didn’t snap and plummet me to the basement. I go to the fifth floor and am thankful that I didn’t have to stop on the second or third or fourth floor. I get out and am thankful that Julie left the door unlocked so I don’t have to rummage for my King Kong key ring. I walk in, and am thankful that Jasper is home and healthy and stuffing his face with pineapple wedges. And on and on. I’m actually muttering to myself, ‘Thank you. . .thank you. . . thank you.’ It’s an odd way to live. But also kind of great and powerful. I’ve never before been so aware of the thousands of little good things, the thousands of things that go right every day.”  – A.J. Jacobs, The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible

This week’s theme for the photo challenge hosted by The Daily Post At WordPress.com is Thankful. There are so many things I am thankful for. I am thankful for every waking hour, for being able to experience the joys and sorrows in life, for the gift of love and friendship, and for simply being alive. Here are a few photographs I took when I went on a helicopter ride with my boyfriend and went I went running with my friend. Life’s good. We should be thankful for all things, big or small, not just on Thanksgiving but all the days of our lives.

There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy.
– Ralph H. Blum

I think I learned
to appreciate and treasure each day
because you don’t know
how many you’re going to be given
– US Supreme Court of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor

No one is as capable of gratitude
as one who has escaped
the kingdom of night.
-Elie Wiesel, accepting the Nobel Peace Prize (1986)

Make it a habit to tell people thank you.
To express your appreciation,
sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return.
Truly appreciate those around you,
and you’ll soon find many others around you.
Truly appreciate life, and you’ll find that you have more of it.
– Ralph Marston

Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours! =)