I was driving home from work today and I was sitting at a stop light next to a young guy who was driving, with his dog in the back seat which looked as if it had the biggest smile on its face.  It was rather cold outside and at first I did not know if the dog was making this face because of how the wind was whipping by him as it brushed against his happy fuzzy face.  As we began to move forward and that car picked up speed, the dog looked over to see me and shook its head really quick, as it continued smiling out the window as if to savor the rest of its journey.  Since the dog looked like it was smiling at me, I felt the need to smile back.  I never know if that type of connection exists via human and animal, however, my feeling is that I should acknowledge that it brought some happiness to me in that moment.  When you think about the drive going home from a long day at work, I don't think most people are present in that moment, to see what possibly could help make their day. Most people are probably more concerned about the traffic moving and ensuring that they get home at a decent hour.  This is why I believe that we should challenge ourselves to look for these opportunities that exist daily that can help make an average day sparkle.  I only need to look outside my windshield or window, to see that I have lots of gratitude for a myriad of things that are part of my life.  The fact that I am able to drive in a car and I am not waiting on a corner for a bus, is an easy start.  I can remember very vividly when I was in college and had no car.  I had a trusty beach cruiser bicycle that took me from my apartment through out the university campus.  There were many other students that bicycled everywhere, so I was just part of the norm and never that not having a car made me less than.  I do remember during those periods of time, when I would go to visit my family back home and the trip that would take a couple of hours via car, took me between five to six hours.  In order to make the trip I had to take public transportation to the downtown Greyhound station and then endure a slow trip home over the mountains.  In retrospect, I appreciate all of those trips as they taught me to be grateful for having a car in later years and to not take for granted that it could be a luxury to many other people.  The next time you are driving home, think about where you are today and where you were in your early twenties.  Your memories will serve as a measure of not only the growth that you have achieved, but it should also provide you with a good reminder of how blessed you are now.