from Gratefulness.org

Harvesting Gratefulness
A Story 

Once there was a happy, satisfied old woman whom many people envied because of her artistry with life. She never left her house without a handful of dried beans. She did not intend to eat the beans, but rather would keep them in the right pocket of her jacket. Every time she experienced something beautiful – a sunrise, a child’s laughter, a brief encounter, a good meal, some shade in midday heat – she soaked it up, let it delight her heart, and moved a bean from her right pocket to her left one. When an experience was especially nice and even surprising, she would move two or three beans.
In the evening, the old woman sat at home, counting the beans she had moved. As she celebrated the number of left-pocket beans, she brought before her eyes how much beauty had crossed her path on that day. And on evenings when she could count only one bean, that was still a good day – it had been worth living.