Recently, I had to part ways with one of my favorite shirts. It was torn, tattered, and threadbare so it was time. It may look like a plain old long-sleeve t-shirt, but it was much more than that to me and it got me thinking about gratitude and what an important tool it has been for me in 2020.
I bought this shirt around 2001 at Old Navy because I knew in my heart I loved Colorado and had dreams (not goals…yet) of living there. It was a comfy shirt. At the time, I was in a serious relationship where my future was already determined. I would not be moving to Colorado, but it was fun to imagine. Today, October 25, 2020, is my three-year Coloradoversary. And while it may not directly appear on every one of my gratitude lists, not a day goes by where I am not grateful to live here. The outdoor recreation is top-notch and that has proven to be a mental and physical savior during Covid.
Earlier this year I took a few Ivy League classes online and one was The Science of Well-Being with Dr. Laurie Santos. I was already a subscriber to her podcast and knew what she was about and the class was a deeper dive. Some of the components of well-being are already engrained in my daily routine (sleep and exercise) but in tracking the other “rewirements” as she calls them, I learned I could do better. One of those rewirements is gratitude. I had already written daily gratitude lists off and on, but combining it with savoring, meditation, connection, and kindness really changed my mindset. I have been rewired to look for opportunities that others might consider insignificant and feel immense gratitude. And that has been vital for my mental health during a year where use of the word “unprecedented” no longer grabs our attention.
I think minimalism and gratitude go hand-in-hand. When you do not own a lot of stuff, you are thankful for what you do own and the many purposes something fulfills. Fewer material items leads to less clutter in your mind and frees it up to focus on what is beautiful in this world–because there is a lot once you start looking for it. Although I no longer have a tattered shirt to visually cue me, I am eternally grateful for you, Colorado!
the single minimal(ist) 