The Attitude of Gratitude

“Let’s choose today to quench our thirst for the ‘good life’ we think others lead by acknowledging the good that already exists in our lives. We can then offer the universe the gift of our grateful hearts.” Sarah Ban Breathnach

Have you ever given something to someone who refused to say thank you, or worse who complained, or who always asked for more without any gratitude from their side?

 How did that make you feel? Or how do you think it would feel? I am sure we all know the answer to that question, it doesn’t feel so good and you might even regret giving that person anything in the first place.  So think of God, Jehovah, Allah or Universe whichever name you prefer to call it for a moment. He has blessed you with food, shelter, family, friends, job, education and gazillions of other things. And most importantly He has given you Life. But how often do you give gratitude for these things. In fact how often do you even notice that these things are blessings given unto you and that they could easily be taken away from you and the only reason that they are not is because of His infinite kindness towards you. Sure you may not have that car you want today but what about your healthy legs that you can walk with. Don’t you think you should be thankful for those? What if you couldn't be able to walk one day?

Learn to appreciate the small things in life. Remember that the oak tree was once a tiny seed. When you learn to appreciate the small things in your life then you start the gratitude snowball effect. The more you are thankful, the more things you will be given to be thankful for. Even when you face disappointments thank your way through them. As you start seeing the positive in every situation and practicing gratitude you will begin to find that even adverse conditions cannot keep their grip on you. Your habit of gratitude will cause them to lose their power over you.

Like any habit, the habit of gratitude takes time till it becomes a permanent part of your life and becomes a lifestyle. Start with the small things in your life ‘I am thankful for my food. Thank you for the air I breathe. Thank you for keeping me alive and well.” Eventually, you will become accustomed to it and will begin to see more and more good things to be thankful for in your life.

Set aside each day a time to be thankful. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a long prayer time, or hours of meditation. You can incorporate it into something you are doing during the day. Perhaps each time you sit to eat or maybe when you take a shower or assign an object as a gratitude object so that every time you see it you will be reminded to be grateful. Get creative and think of more ways to make thankfulness your daily habit.

Have an awesome day!

Lidia

Who said we have to wait for Thanks Giving Day every year to be thankful? Today, what are you grateful for? J

THE MIRACLE IN WONDERLAND

It was a cloudy morning in Wonderland. The town was wrapped in a shroud of white, a familiar blanket in Wonderland, during this time of the month. 

It started off as a normal day. People were hustling and bustling to get by their everyday life. The shops across the street were opening, the milkman was preparing his cart to start his delivery, the newspaper delivery boy had just finished delivering newspapers, the beggar who sat at the same corner of the street every day to beg for alms had settled in his spot. It was all a familiar everyday scene until the beggar saw something unusual distantly up in the sky. There was a beautiful golden sparkling thing descending from the sky. The beggar was astounded. “What is that beautiful thing descending from the sky?” he exclaimed in his amazement. The newspaper delivery boy who was engaging in a conversation with the butcher man turned his gaze to look at what the beggar was talking about. It was a miracle! So after that the newspaper boy told the butcher man who told the maid who told the neighbors, it went on and on.  The information spread very quickly and soon enough people started gathering in the streets of Wonderland to witness this amazing incident. Everyone was stunned. What could it be? It looked so beautiful.

After lots and lots of speculations about what the sparkling thing could possibly be, people started conversing about what they would do if they were lucky enough to be the one to grab hold of it. One woman said “I would sell it and buy a new house for my family.” Another man said “If I caught it and became rich, maybe Becky would leave that man and come back to me.” A little girl shouted “I will keep it beside my bed and look at it every day!” It was one wish after another. The beggar thought to himself ‘If I got it my life would change forever. I will no longer be known as the beggar in town. I won’t have to hope for people’s charity. But who am I kidding it won’t be me! I am the lowest of them all, the least important, and the poorest.’ He thought ‘It is pretty, magnificent, and miraculous and I don’t deserve it.’ So, as everyone stretched their hands to the sky and kept pushing one another out of the way hoping that the beautiful golden thing would land on their hands the beggar kept his hand folded on his chest watching the frenzy.

As the sparkling thing came closer and closer to their sight, to their amazement, it was coming in the direction of the beggar who was standing some distance away from the crowd but he had already made up his mind that it wasn't meant to be his and was not even looking up at it or trying to reach for it. Hence, the one who was standing closest to the beggar grabbed it.

The one who needed it the most and who could have grabbed it, missed it!

Don’t let an opportunity slip by, thinking ‘I am not good enough, I am not smart enough, I am not pretty enough.’ Answer every opportunity that knocks on your door no matter how impossible it may seem because opportunity seldom knocks twice!

Written by Lidia Samuel