today i'm grateful for...

It’s a question I began asking myself every day, as a way to reflect. I wasn’t surprised after a few days of this practice to find myself noticing things in a whole new way and appreciating them like never before. What I didn’t realize was that by doing this every day, I was becoming, well, happier.

I began this daily habit when a friend of mine introduced me to an app she and her business partner were developing: 1THINGapp.com. It acts as a gratitude journal where you can either keep the things you are grateful for private or share them anonymously with the world. Every day, one of the ‘gratitudes’ that have been shared are illustrated by an artist.

"Sun Saluations" illustrated by Mike Ellis

I was so moved by this project with 1THINGapp.com that I wanted to pose the question with the Wanderlust community in Whistler. After all, yoga is the ultimate celebration of gratitude. I had created a “Before I Die” wall in Vancouver earlier this year and was astounded by the way people engaged with the wall.

Photo Credit: Dana Ramler

Inspired, I created a spinoff for Wanderlust. A giant blackboard with the words “Today I’m grateful for…” was set up in Whistler village. Buckets of chalk were left out and people were invited to share what they were grateful for that day. Each morning of the four-day festival, the wall was cleaned and put out and every day by lunch it was full. The responses were incredible. Grateful for everything from loved ones, sunshine, fresh clean air and new adventures to health, dreams coming true, mountains and freedom. People shared and the wall was bursting with gratitude.

Photo Credit: Dana Ramler

What I find most incredible about these projects is the impact of seeing the gratitude of others and its effect on me. I am continually touched, moved and inspired by what people are appreciative of and further inspired in my own life of things to be grateful for. It’s like gratitude is contagious!

Thanksgiving (a day dedicated to sharing gratitude) is coming up but we can’t help but wonder about the other 364 days of the year. Take a moment, pause and reflect. What are you grateful for today? And maybe try sharing it with the rest of the world, you never know who you’ll inspire!

Watch our recap of the festival:

And check out a few photos highlighting what we got up to!

At Wanderlust Whistler 2012, we:

made new friends in the forest

learned how to fly

met a rasta dog

turned a field into an outdoor yoga studio

danced to michael franti

reached out and touched people

celebrated after the sun went down

filled the gratitude wall every day

did yoga on paddleboards

hung out with ambassadors

threw our hands in the air

got hooped

got janet stoned

closed the weekend in the best place possible: on a mountaintop

To everyone that came from near and far, who tuned in via livestream, and who shared the weekend with us: thank you. See you next year?

More photos of downdogs and dancing are in this Facebook album.