“There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy.” ~ Ralph Blum

Living with gratitude hasn’t always been my norm. In an industry where so much is outside our control, negativity finds plenty of fissures to infiltrate. Yet, the single greatest change I’ve made in recent years is making the practice of gratitude my default.

That doesn’t mean I don’t still cuss like a sailor with fury or frustration occasionally. It doesn’t mean I don’t feel sad, anxious, or defeated sometimes. Instead, learning to live with gratitude as my default means I’m actually learning to live an authentic life … one full of real feeling and emotion but not controlled by the swings of it all.

Practicing gratitude daily means welcoming a peace I once believed had to be chased. Gratitude doesn’t change the uncontrollable factors in farming and ranching, but for me, it makes those factors less of a mountain and more of a bump. #WeAreRanchers #findthegood #bethegood