Day 201 - Counting my Blessings

I have never counted my blessings. While I have taken time acknowledge the things I’m lucky to have from time to time throughout my life, I have never actually sat down and documented all of the things I’m blessed to have in my life. The idea to do so came from two sources that ultimately led me to include such an event in my “I have never...” journey. First, the old adage “You should count your blessings!” was something my mother used to tell me when I would take things for granted growing up, and while I’m sure it wasn’t intended to be taken literally at all times, I figured I would finally follow her advice. Second, with the Thanksgiving holiday occurring this week, I thought it was the perfect time to sit down and truly think about the things for which I should be grateful. Although I originally intended to follow through with this “I have never...” experience on Thanksgiving Day, my plans were spoiled by the encroaching Black “Friday” phenomenon that has now begun to plant roots in the day of Thanksgiving. As a result, I set aside a few hours today to sit down and really think about the blessings I have been granted in my life. In doing so, I realized the experience was probably long overdue and that I’m one lucky man.

For this “I have never...” experience I won’t try to explain my thought process as I worked through the process of counting my blessings. Instead, I will simply let the photos of the list I created tell most of the story. After taking on the task I will say that I think this is something everyone should take time to do. Between the smiles and the few tears I shed, the practice of documenting all the things I have in my life made me realize some of the things I overlook, some of the things I take for granted to readily, and the real weight of the achievements I have fought to gain in my life. By the end of the experience I was humbled and I had a renewed perspective on my life and the story I have yet to tell. From that, I was only able to gain one conclusion; I’m lucky to have more love, happiness, and comfort in my life than one man deserves and I should probably do more to acknowledge that fact in my day to day life.

The front sides...

...and the back sides

There was a big part of me that didn’t know what to expect when I started this crazy “I have never...” idea, but days like today make me realize breaking out of my routines and trying things I have yet to experience is entirely worth it. Today I took on the simple task of thinking about and documenting all of the things I am blessed with in my life, yet I came away from the experience with a lifted spirit, a renewed commitment to do everything in my power to never take anything for granted, and a new outlook on my happiness. I have so much it’s almost more than my heart can stand. That takeaway is worth so much more than the few hours I took to finally count my blessings. I just hope others read this and take a little time to do the same.