Practically every night, before I go to bed, I sit on my meditation cushion, and I write a few things in my gratitude journal. I have been keeping a gratitude journal for years. My current volume has a glossy hard cover of kaleidoscope colored geometric shapes that closes around the pages. It’s like a book that turns into a gift box I have to open when I’m ready to write something.

My entries can be pretty simple. Last night, I wrote that I was grateful for the wonderful leftovers I got to eat for dinner (courtesy of a friend who made a terrific meal the day before). I wrote that I was grateful for the funny and philosophical book I’m reading now and the fact that the humidity dropped and reading it for two hours at the beach was absolutely blissful!

Recently, I started a Gratitude Gallery. I decided to collect thank you notes that people had written to me. Right now, I am keeping my gallery on top of my refrigerator.

I have a card from the family of a dear friend who passed away a few months ago, thanking me for joining them in a special night of reminiscing. Phyllis sent me a handmade thank you card because I took time to meet her for tea and brainstorming about her job situation. I have a card from Rosie, thanking me for going to the library for her when she had back problems. (I was grounded for months because of a broken foot, so I know what it’s like not being able to get around.) I just love the post-it note thank you Donna gave me. I stuck it on a folded index card, so I could display it with the others. I performed a task for a group gathering at the last minute because someone didn’t show up. When I returned to my seat, I saw that Donna, who was coordinating the program, had left the post-it with “Thank You” and a hand-drawn heart for me.

My gratitude journal invites me to remember how the world is better because different things are in it, and my gratitude gallery reminds me that the world is better (at least for a handful of others) because I’m in it.

I like to see these thank you cards. I hope my collection grows and grows. (I’m sure I’ll find a bigger space when the top of my refrigerator is full.) First of all, when I see these cards, I think of my better self, the thoughtful or considerate part of me. But they are reminders of something even more important.

When I see these thank you cards I recognize that I have successfully surrounded myself with people who appreciate me, people who appreciate me and who have taken the extra step to tell me. And that’s no small thing.