The found art of gratitude

I have just spent 20 mins trolling around the net looking for a quote I liked from the Alexander Macall Novel.  'The lost art of Gratitude.'
I always expect that if I do this I will somehow land on my favourite one and it will work out perfectly and give me the springboard I need to write from. Alas not today.
I have been thinking about this because of the Gratitude thing. It has been a big buzz word and exercise as well as mindfulness in all the Art therapy circles and on Art Journalling blogs. I understand the philosophy behind it and have appreciated reading peoples lists and the joy they get from them.
I have to confess at times though the thought of being grateful makes me feel tired. It seems like there has to be real effort behind the thinking to get cracking on it.
I feel pleased about many things in my life and very appreciative, but my pondering has been on the word grateful. As usual when I am stuck I pray and let it go.
Today I was drinking my cup of peppermint tea and I realized that not only was I pleased to drink it but that I also felt truly grateful for the fact that it helped my tummy when it gets upset. I felt grateful for the zip of hot water that gives me instant hot drinks here. I felt grateful for the enormous warm and loving hug off one of the Nurses this morning as I staggered bleary eyed with morning breath down the hall in my fluffy pink dressing gown (lots of broken sleep and a woozy head). I t was a different feeling from being pleased.
I have decided that gratitude is something that springs from the heart, and yes it also something to practice and make lists of.
Feeling pleased is somehow more rational and head centered, still thinking about this..any insight from readers would be appreciated.
I feel pleased that gary is here and is safe. I feel gratitude for the extra time we are having and the love and funny moments that have us laughing and being silly.
I feel immense gratitude for how our marriage has turned out. It wasn't a given and we both made choices many years ago that stepped us towards each other not away.
Once the feeling arrived enormous lists started up in my head.
And in no particular order, the support that has been given to us the people in our lives, Insurance, my KIDS, church, God, humour, ducks, having work and a good boss, books, Art , wheelchairs, tiger pictures, Winnie (who used to work at blue water products) spotted me in Gardens New World today and zipped out from behind the counter in the Deli and gave me my second enormous cuddle of the day and told me she had missed me and asked after Gary. She hadn't seen me for a year after leaving her last work place. She is about five foot, chinese and feisty. I was pleased to see her she is funny! dinner which has just been bought to us, friends who run dog holiday camps, guitars, snow-peas xx














Here is blog of someone I connected with on 6 degrees of Creativity.
Registered Arts Therapist/Artist/Photographer/Puppet Maker Janet McLeod MA AT AThR Clinical (Hons)
She is an Art therapist in Auckland. http://janmak.wordpress.com/gallery/
She also has another one with some awesome ideas. http://positivearttherapy.wordpress.com/2012/07/01/gratitude-reframing/.