This year, for one reason or another, I’m focused on spending the remaining days of the year being both reflective and appreciative of what I experienced. And that, more or less, is where the idea of this gratitude poem came from.

It’s been a trying year in some sense, but all years bring their challenges, and the positives of this past year far outweigh the negatives. Mostly, I just feel I’ve done a lot of growing this year, and gained some important clarity, and I think clarity often comes from deep contemplation.

As a thought experiment, I wanted to test myself and see if I could write a poem which referenced one hundred thing things I’m grateful for.

It’s a poem of appreciation for things that I may not always stop to appreciative.

In short, perhaps my greatest personal goal in life is to maintain a sense of humility, and a large part of that, to me, is about understanding just how fortunate I am at the end of the day.

I practice this in my daily life when I’m using “The Five Minute Journal.” It helps me to start my day with intention, and end it with gratitude.

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Without Further Adieu, Here’s My Gratitude Poem!

I underestimated, at least in the beginning, just how therapeutic this would be in a positive way. Sitting down to write a poem about being grateful is relatively easy at the beginning, but if you’re aiming for 100 things, then you’ve got to dive deep into the things that make you happy.

All said and done, I fit those 100 things into roughly 30 poetic verses.

I’m not suggesting it’s great, but I figure that if this brings a smile to your face, encourages you to write your own gratitude poem of any length, or simply practice gratitude a little more in the coming year - well, then that’s enough.

And, I’m not the sort of “poet” (and I use that title so, so lightly) who gets too deep into the dark web of my mind. I like to write poetry that’s playful, fun, and allows me to mess around with diction and language. You’ll see what I mean, I hope.

I’ll put each thing that I’m grateful for in bold, just so you can see all 100 things that I’ve included clearly.

I hope you’ll enjoy it, my friends.

———

I’m grateful for change, the ups and the downs,

Both happiness and sadness, the smiles and the frowns.

I’m grateful to writing for giving me pause,

To examine the world, for its beauty and flaws.

To cheese, I thank you for obvious reasons,

And I too must show love to all four of the seasons.

Next up on this list is my trusty canoe,

Cheers to good health, and down with the flu.

There aren’t enough thanks to share with my wife,

Much love to Bri, my partner in life,

I sleep with a smile because she’s on my right,

Plus she’s awfully pretty, and we rarely fight.

An ode to my mind, both wild and curious,

Some teachers loved me, and others were furious,

My brain’s a bit different, for better or worse,

But I see now a blessing, where I once saw a curse.

I’m thankful for books in more ways than one,

They gave me my bullets, my flag, and my gun.

I like the soft sound of traffic, with the moon way up high,

or a nice long walk, though I wish I could fly.

I adore a good drive all on my own,

And that one silly show where they battle for Thrones.

The Leafs, the Raptors, the Jays, and the Bills,

A really loud concert, with all of its thrills.

To not mention hummus would be quite a crime,

And soda water with fresh lemon and lime.

I love speaking new languages in far away places,

I love bold red wine, not bottles, but cases.