I’m still on the gift tip here- continuing from my last post. But really, it’s the gratitude tip since giving gifts is an act of gratitude and receiving them also sparks gratitude. So, I got the best gift possible from my sister recently: an ipod loaded with music. Isn’t that a good one?! Feel free to steal the idea and really make someone’s day/week/month/entire span of time that they listen to the music. But I digress as I often do. My sister has an elite and eclectic taste in music. She knows all of the new and upcoming bands and about that guy who makes amazing techno tracks in his mom’s basement in Berlin. One of the bands she included was Modest Mouse. I highly recommend them if you are not familiar with them already! They are experimental rock with quirky, poetic lyrics.

Since I have had gratitude on my mind lately and really always since I believe it is the key to happiness (yep, you heard it here folks), one of their songs jumped out at me. It’s called Lives. I heard it for the first time doing crunches at the gym, and I cried, just a little. It has such a great message: Remember to just be and be grateful for what is in front of you. Now I don’t know about you, but I live a pretty typical western lifestyle: always busy, always on the go, always achieving and always looking for the latest and greatest. I welcome reminders to just slow down and be content with things just as they are. Things like when my mom calls me just because, or when my cat jumps on my lap, purring, blocking me from accessing my laptop, and a beautiful song with beautiful lyrics. Here are some highlights of Lives:

Everyone’s afraid of their own life.
If you could be anything you want I bet you’d be disappointed.
Am I right?

It’s hard to remember we’re alive for the first time.
It’s hard to remember we’re alive for the last time.
It’s hard to remember to live before you die.
It’s hard to remember that our lives are such a short time.