PHOTO CREDIT: ERIKA HART PHOTOGRAPHY/FLOWERS BY LAZY TOAD FARM
PHOTO STORY: GRATITUDE SHOWS UP WHEN I SEE MY CHILDREN SMILE, WHEN I FEEL THEIR JOY. LOOK AT THOSE SMILES! IT WAS HOT-WE WERE PHYSICALLY A BIT MISERABLE…YET THERE WAS JOY. FUN. PLAYFULNESS. LOVE! SIMPLE YET PROFOUND! THIS MOMENT WAS CAPTURED ON TALIA’S WEDDING DAY AND TOBIAS IS HER MAN OF HONOR.
NOVEMBER 1ST, 2026
November brings a lot of talk about gratitude.
Be thankful.
Count your blessings.
Remember how much you have.
And those are beautiful reminders.
But let's be real.
Some days, gratitude doesn't feel quite that grand.
Some days are hard.
Some days we're tired, overwhelmed, worried, grieving, irritated, or simply trying to get through everything on the list.
And being told to “just be grateful” doesn't necessarily help.
Maybe gratitude doesn't have to mean pretending everything is wonderful.
Maybe it can be much simpler.
Maybe gratitude is just noticing what was good.
The hot shower.
The first sip of coffee.
Someone making you laugh.
A green light when you're running late.
Your favorite sweatshirt.
A text from someone you love.
The dog meeting you at the door.
A really good piece of pie.
Getting into bed at the end of a long day.
Nothing life-changing.
Just good.
Our brains are very good at remembering what went wrong. The awkward conversation, the mistake we made, the thing we forgot, the person who irritated us, or the worry about tomorrow can follow us right into bed.
That's part of being human.
But we can also practice noticing what went right.
Not to erase the difficult things.
Not to force positivity.
Simply to remind ourselves that hard things and good things can exist in the very same day.
Monthly Body–Mind Strategy: Three Good Things
One of my favorite practices is called Three Good Things.
The practice has been studied extensively in positive psychology, including research by Dr. J. Bryan Sexton and colleagues at Duke University, and is also one of the resilience practices shared through Minnesota's Bounce Back Project.
The idea is wonderfully simple:
Before you go to sleep, think of three things that were good about your day.
That's it.
They don't have to be profound.
In fact, I think the simple things are often the best ones.
Maybe…
The sun came out.
Someone smiled at you.
Dinner tasted good.
You finished something you'd been putting off.
You had five quiet minutes.
Your body felt good during a walk.
You heard a song you love.
You laughed.
Three good things.
Many versions of the practice encourage you to write them down—and there are some really cute Three Good Things journals available if that's your thing. (My dad is good about writing them down!)
But let's be real. (I’m not good at writing them down!)
Sometimes one more thing we're “supposed” to do isn't what we need.
So keep it simple.
When your head hits the pillow, ask yourself:
What were three good things about today?
You can write them down.
You can say them out loud.
Or you can simply think them.
Pause for a moment with each one.
Remember it.
Notice how it felt.
Let your mind spend a little time there before moving on.
Research on Three Good Things has found that this deceptively simple practice can support well-being and happiness. The point isn't to convince ourselves that everything is good. It's to strengthen our ability to notice the good that is already there.
And maybe that's a different way to think about gratitude this November.
We don't need a perfect life to practice it.
We don't need a beautiful sunset, a big accomplishment, or some profound moment.
Sometimes gratitude sounds more like:
My coffee was hot.
Someone made me laugh.
I made it through the day.
And sometimes?
That's enough.
Tonight, before you fall asleep, see if you can find your Three Good Things.
Then do it again tomorrow.
You might be surprised by how many little good things have been there all along.
—Dawn
Dawning Path – Wellness & Education
