Here my mind wanders...

I spent the month of November posting daily gratitudes on Facebook. Except for yesterday, when I guess the redundancy of the effort started to wear on me enough I didn't care anymore. I'm a grateful person. I tend not to dwell on the negative... at least not on the outside, where anyone can see. It's not my place to weigh down the world with further burdens, and while some people seem to find relief by voicing their grievances, I find it only makes them bigger and more difficult to cope with. It turns them from a bone in my pocket which I am free to pull out and chew on when I like to a cumbersome boulder that I must carry or kick along.

If you can't say something nice don't say anything at all. 

~Thumper's mother to Thumper, in the Disney movie, Bambi

Think of that the next time you encounter a person in a moment of "quiet" or someone you want to label as shy.

Silence isn't negative, however. Sometimes it just means one is listening. Or tuning inward rather than out. Slogging through daily grind that requires no commentary. Trying to maintain perspective rather than spew forth words that might change your course... or your attitude.

How does one look at a life on a daily basis and single out one gratitude in a sea of many? How does one select a positive without acknowledging that there are negatives at hand, as well?

You choose it. You say something nice. And sometimes you don't say anything at all.