Peace Insurance
Sometimes during the storms of life, I start to notice the mud more than the shiny green leaves and sparkling stones along my path. It had been a stressful year, dealing with my father’s death and other family health problems, and I wanted to restore my life to its previous luster. I had read John Kralik’s 365 Thank Yous: The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life , but I had never followed his example to write a thank you note a day. At this point, though, I needed to make a colossal change, so I set the goal: write 365 notes of gratitude during the coming year. After buying handfuls of pretty notecards at a discount, I wrote the first 100 notes. These included letters to my husband, my kids, extended family members, teachers, coaches, and neighbors. Like a gold miner, panning for gold, I was finding glittery flecks among the dull dregs of my life. Each tiny fleck increased my happiness, and my joy continued to grow as my friends and family reciprocated by sending
