The Shitty Stuff I’m Grateful For

I know exactly what I am grateful for: my friends, my family, red wine, strong coffee, my career, my health, anything that makes me laugh. And I try to be grateful for these things daily (or at least far more often than the fourth Thursday of each November).

So, this year I thought I’d challenge myself and attempt to be grateful for the shit that is difficult to be grateful for.  Here goes:

1. I am grateful that I have to pay rent each month because my home is safe, warm, and always fun to come home to (thank you lovely roomies).
2. I am grateful for my water bill because hot showers they are a place to warm up when I get in from the bitter outdoors, or de-stress after a long day. On a more basic level – they let me feel clean and confident each and every day.
3. I am grateful for my power bill because Netflix.
4. I am grateful that I have the income to pay my bills with a steady job.
5. I am grateful for people who do not share my same opinions on politics because I get a nice little brain exercise anytime I discuss alternative views with someone. Frustration aside, it does make this world a lot less boring.
6. I am grateful for the parking tickets I have accumulated and wasted money on over the years because it means my operational and dependable car was parked there (and generally means I was busy having too much fun to realize my meter was out).
7. Non-morning-person-me is grateful that I have to wake up each morning to get to a job that I genuinely love.
8. I am grateful that my life has gone completely awry from my 5 year plan for myself because without  straying from the path I thought I wanted, I wouldn’t be where I am, be who I am, or have the amazing humans I have in my life.
9. I am grateful for death because it reminds me that life is precious and impermanent. It reminds me to love the people I love every day because the next one isn’t guaranteed for any of us. It reminds me to be present, to live.
10. I am grateful for mayonnaise because even though I find it repulsive I know it makes my sister’s cheeseburgers taste that much better to her, which makes her that much happier.
11. I am grateful for last Saturday’s excruciating hangover because it was a testament to the good Friday night I shared with even better people.
12. I am grateful for my imperfect body. It is the same body that has taken me into the ocean, stood inside La Sagrada Familia, fallen in love, made it through trials. It is the same body that allows me to travel, eat, drink, and spend time with the people I love. It is the same body that has been with me for each and every delicious Thanksgiving holiday when I realize – more than ever – that I have absolutely everything to be grateful for.

(I close this exercise with a note that my heart almost exploded from gratitude. It is full and happy and I recommend you try this yourself.)