Today is November 1 and thus marks the beginning of my birthday month. This year I will be turning 33 (on November 30) and will have just celebrated my 3 year anniversary of being in Italy. Three seems to be the number.

This year has been quite strange by many aspects. While nothing major has occurred, several small and seemingly insignificant happenings are leading to some big shifts within. It has been a year of many doubts, many choices, and many reflections. I’m still trying to process all of these internal changes; some are apparent (to me) and others I believe are happening deep inside, on a level which I have yet to comprehend.

I haven’t decided what “gift” I will give to myself this year, perhaps a weekend getaway to some undiscovered part of Italy, a meal at my favorite Michelin-starred chef’s restaurant, or those pair of heels that I have been drooling over ever since I laid eyes on them. And while any of these “gifts” would be wonderful, they pale in comparison to the real gift I have decided to give myself…the gift of gratitude. Now don’t mistake me, it’s not that I’m not grateful for what I have but, when I’m going through an internal crisis or am feeling anxious or depressed, I tend to forget all those good things present around me and within me. By dedicating this month to gratitude and focusing everyday on the beauty in my life, I’m hoping that when those dark times do come around they won’t be so dark after all. When we choose to focus on the good in our lives, on what we have instead of what we lack, that goodness expands ten-fold. So I’m choosing only the good. And the Universe, timely as ever, agrees as I stumbled across this quote today…

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