Knowing when you are there is the most difficult part of practicing gratefulness. If you're always "on the way to there", you might find it hard to appreciate where you are; after all, you are not there yet.
If, however, you are always there, then it's possible to be grateful for having arrived.
Last year, I imagined, planned for and completed two epic rides - the 172 miles for the Superman ride, and the 223 miles for the Mt. Vernon Century ride. I felt very satisfied at the completion of each. I had arrived. Each was there for me.
This year, however, as I try to complete a Brevet Series (a 200 kilometer, 300 kilometer, 400 kilometer, and 600 kilometer ride) I find that every ride is hard and yields no satisfaction. At the end of each ride (I've completed the 200 and 300 kilometer rides so far) I find myself exhausted, and wondering will it be possible to ride that same distance PLUS 62 more miles (or in the case of the 600 kilometer ride, 124 more miles). And I have to immediately begin training for the next event. So no satisfaction.
It has occurred to me that when the whole is broken into parts, it's difficult to be thankful for a part. By definition, it is not complete, therefore there's no satisfaction. If I could by some means change my outlook, and begin to view each of the parts as whole in themselves, then I could be grateful for each part and satisfaction would likely visit my house.
Mike McKee's mild rebuke recently about my lack of gratefulness at simply being able to ride my bike has stuck with me. Perhaps in bicycling, as well as the rest of my life, I need to start seeing myself as there, where ever I go. Then where ever I go, there I'll be, and I'll be satisfied and possibly grateful as well.
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