Gratitude is the gateway to joy.

It opens our hearts, softens the rough edges where resentments, disdain, criticism and a host of other challenging emotions convene to create discord in our lives.

Gratitude is healing.

This morning, I conducted a gratitude experiment.

I decided to verbally thank everything in my path as I moved through my morning.

“Thank you bed for holding me softly during the night,” I said as I got up.

“Thank you lamp for casting your light when I turn you on.”

“Thank you toilet for providing a hygienic vessel for my body to use.”

. “Thank you water for flowing into the tap so I can wash my hands.”  “Thank you tap for being there when I need water.”

“Thank you sink for catching the water and returning it to its necessary pipes.”

And the list goes on. From thanking the kettle that heated up my water for tea to the friends who gave us the kettle as a wedding gift almost four years ago, I verbally, out loud, thanked everything that made my morning ‘work’, including the gas that turned on our stove so I could heat up the water for my tea. The laptop upon which I type and the Internet that carries my words into the ethernet and onto other people’s computer screens. And Beaumont who appeared by my side as I typed and nudged my elbow in search of a cuddle..

Needless to say, it took me longer to get to my desk this morning.

Thanking all things in my world out loud takes time.

But, as I went about my home thanking the various things I used to prepare myself for the day, it truly did impress upon me how very lucky I am to live in a world where I have these things to make my world easier. I am grateful.

And, it definitely caused me to laugh out loud.

Laughing out loud filled my heart with joy. Providing, gratitude is the gateway to joy.

May you walk in gratitude. May you have a joy-filled day.

And thank you for being part of my world.