World events and news can be difficult to ignore. However, I have a strict rule at our dinner table that we don’t let the latest crazy tweet or story suck up all the oxygen. That means we need other things to talk about.
For the last few months, my family and I have been adapting a practice of each of us sharing something we’re grateful for from that day. The smaller the better.
When I introduced the concept, I wanted to demonstrate just how small we could take this – I shared my gratitude for the perfect meatball on my fork. I had tested a new recipe and was really pleased with how they turned out.
And now, every day, my family and I all share what we’re grateful for. The conversations are light and enlightening.
Here are some from memory that I’ve heard recently:
One of my kids shared that they got to school early that day and ended up having a good conversation with someone.
One of my kids shared their joy when the rain turned to snow for his walk home, which meant their shoes didn’t get wet.
My wife talked about a new idea they had for a book cover.
These moments of gratitude can easily turn into much longer discussions. We can all of a sudden be discussing cloud formations and light refraction.
By practicing being grateful for the literal small things, it gets easier and easier to come up with new ones.
There were times earlier on when my kids would sit silently, and have a difficult time coming up with anything. But the smaller they went, the easier it become, and before long they weren’t getting stuck.
And one day after my family started kicking off their gratitude without my prompting, I shared that I was grateful in that moment that I didn’t even have to ask.
I’ve asked “How was school?” thousands of times, and get the usual answer of “fine” every day, but sharing what we’re grateful for from that day completely flips the script.
In a world where our anxiety and outrage is literally leveraged and monetized, maybe this dinner ritual isn’t just nice – maybe it’s necessary.
What tiny thing made you smile today? I’d love to know.
