three good things

This is my buddy Joe the grasshopper enjoying his freedom and counting his blessings. He is here to wish you a happy Fourth of July. Today is a day to put all of your cares and troubles up on the shelf, to relax, snack and enjoy the outdoors. 

It is easy to be all dreamy and say count your blessings when plenty of crappy things happen all the time. But, if you think about it, the counting your blessings thing is not so easy. Yesterday, a buddy of mine's car got totaled. That is surely depressing. The good part, though was that nobody got hurt, she had insurance, and cars are replaceable. 

It takes effort to focus on the positive when bad things happen. That is a habit I am working on by mentally reviewing my day each evening to come up with three good things to ponder as I fall asleep. I used to do this, but fell out of the habit. Why is it that wholesome habits seem so much harder to maintain than lame ones? Meditating twenty minutes a day never gets easy, nor do chaturangas. On particularly dismal days, there is always the existence of ice cream to celebrate. 

Yesterday, this grasshopper made the list. I found him at Arbor Hills Nature Preserve. Isn't he mesmerizing? For some reason, he looks like a Joe, don't you think? Anyhow, Happy Fourth!