On the first day of this year I started a new Pinterest board, “Epic Gratitude: 365 Days, One Day at a Time.” Admittedly, it was, at the time, a knee-jerk reaction to the annoyance felt towards some Facebook friends who, in the first week or two of the previous November, began posting things they were grateful for, as though the holiday of Thanksgiving triggered a sudden awareness of blessings they had had all the long. Just as abruptly as it began, their gratitude postings stopped even before the long Thanksgiving weekend ended.

I wondered if an attitude of gratitude could be genuinely felt every single day for an entire year, and on this, the 357th day of 2014, I’m convinced that it can because I’ve had no problem finding things to be grateful for each and every day. It encourages a heightened awareness and appreciation for things big and small. Of course, not every thing is major; most, in fact, are relatively small…like a sunny, fifty-five degree day in December…warm enough to take my dogs on a nice, long walk…or that the price of a gallon of premium gasoline that my thirteen-year-old (but still reliable!) car runs on is just $3.54…or that I recently got to see one of my favorite holiday movies on the big screen.

I know that in some cities, theaters are showing classic movies–like “Psycho,” “Batman,” and “Edward Scissorhands,” but I never thought it would happen in my little town. The elegant Alhambra on Main Street, downtown–opened in 1928 and restored ten years ago–has been used primarily for music performances and repertory theater. So, for it to show “It’s a Wonderful Life” this past weekend was a delightful departure anticipated by many.

I’ve seen this movie dozens and dozens of times, but never on the big screen and never with a couple hundred people like I did this past weekend. George Bailey, Uncle Billy, old man Potter, and the guardian angel Clarence came to life as never before, and seeing it in its original black and white made a good thing even better. Scenes like the dance floor opening up to the swimming pool below and the one in which George contemplating suicide on the snowy bridge that crossed the river drew me in and affected me in a way I hadn’t ever experienced while viewing on a television screen, even a big, plasma one. And seeing the movie without commercials or interruptions of any kind was divine.

The experience was one for which I was truly grateful, and of course it earned a place on my Pinterest board (Day 354.) I love that this movie is so rich with truthful life lessons–like reminding us that everyone has a purpose in life, that it’s futile to compare ourselves to others, that the best marriage is one where both partners work together as a team, and that good friends–not money–make our lives rich. The movie, like my gratitude board, reminds me of how blessed I am.

This really is a wonderful life.