The Blessing of Routine: Why Every Day Deserves Gratitude

When was the last time you stopped in the middle of your busy routine just to say thank You to Hashem—for the simple fact that you're alive? When did you last look closely at your life and truly see, “eye to eye,” the kindness and goodness that Hashem has poured into your life since the day you were born?

Many of us think we need a major miracle to feel thankful. We imagine that only a big salvation, something dramatic, will wake us up to gratitude. But the truth is often the opposite. Real gratitude comes when we learn to notice the everyday blessings that surround us—the quiet miracles we often overlook.

That’s exactly what Maya Nir, a woman who shared her personal journey online, wanted to express. “I have a life story full of reasons to be grateful,” she writes honestly, “but I admit that I rarely stopped to say thank You for any of it. When things went wrong, I had no problem complaining to Hashem. That part came easily.”

Like many of us, Maya faced her share of difficult tests in life. But something shifted during a recent challenge. “This time,” she said, “I made a decision—I would strengthen myself.”

She began waking up early each morning, taking a few quiet minutes to pray and thank Hashem. She made a gratitude notebook where she wrote down everything she had—big things and small—and thanked Hashem for each one.

And slowly, something beautiful began to happen. “As I increased my gratitude, I felt my joy growing stronger,” Maya shared. “I began to actually see the miracle of my own life. It starts with the smallest details and keeps growing from there. Suddenly, nothing feels ordinary. Nothing is taken for granted.”

Maya reminds us that no one owes us anything, and that even the most ‘normal’ parts of life are really precious gifts. “Baruch Hashem (thank God), I don’t have a terrible story. I’m healthy. My children are healthy. Like everyone, we have ups and downs—but it’s exactly from within the 'ordinary' that I’ve discovered how extraordinary life really is.”

Her message is simple, but powerful: we must learn to appreciate our daily routine. To pause, to look around, and to give thanks—for the small blessings as much as the big ones.

“Who can truly say they have nothing to be thankful for?” she asks gently. “Life can change in an instant, chas v’shalom (God forbid). That’s why we need to cherish the blessings we have, especially the ones that seem the most routine.”

She concludes with a quiet, powerful truth: “It might not make headlines, but it's not a cliché either—we woke up this morning. That alone is a miracle.”