Dear Readers,
A new day! A fresh start! Despite what happened the day
before, every day you should wake up and give yourself the gift of an attitude
of gratitude. Gratitude is all about being thankful for and appreciating the
things you have in your life, everyday.
Using the gift of gratitude is easy: simply begin to value all the
goodness, beauty, and love around you. This can be as breathtaking as noticing
a beautiful evening sunset that looks more like a painting on canvas or as
simple as the soft feel of cotton against your skin when wearing a new sweater
you recently purchased.
Gratitude is a way of simplifying life and reverting to a
simple state of uncomplicated, natural, pure happiness. Over a year ago, I
challenged followers in my Think Thankfully Facebook page. I asked them to
adopt this idea of gifting themselves an attitude of gratitude EVERY day for 30
days. Allow themselves to be grateful for the things in their every day life
that may be overlooked. Start simple and let the attitude of gratitude grow.
For me, it seemed like an easy challenge. Of all the followers of my page, one
person took the idea and ran with it. Every single day, she posted what she was
thankful for. She offered her gratitude for little things in her day, that she
normally would have just dismissed as routine. You could see the build up in
each post. Some days she had to dig deep (heck, don't we all at some point?!),
but after the 30 days were up, she continued the ‘habit’ of posting her daily
gratitude. She is one of the people I stick around on the great book of Faces
for. I enjoy reading her daily gratitude and many times, it makes me take a
step back and focus even that much more on my own gratitude. I’ve seen a change
in this person. I hear it in her posts, I see it in her pictures. She is a far
more happier person and while she still experiences roadblocks and speed bumps
in her days, she sees that the goodness outweighs the negative.
THAT is what it is all about. Notice the positive and the
good in your day, and soon enough, you will see the goodness and positives the
world around you. Notice what’s right instead of what’s wrong, and begin to see
every negative situation as an opportunity to grow into a better state of mind,
and ultimately a happier, better person. Is your glass half full or half empty?
Do you see the rain as a miserable day or an opportunity for new growth to
flourish? Do you recognize a bird chirping as a sign of spring or a nuisance
noise that just woke you from your much needed sleep?
Life is for celebrating and in noticing all the things in
your life to be thankful for, you give yourself more to celebrate! Expressing
gratitude, being thankful, and living your life as a celebration is a wonderful
idea and if celebrated each and every day, it can become a never ending
party!!! Enjoy life, use the gift of the attitude of gratitude to find ways to
celebrate every day! Order flavored coffee instead of the boring blah stuff!
Keep a smile on your face and then share that smile with a stranger! Skip down
the hallway at work! Whistle a happy tune while in the elevator! EAT DESSERT!!
Call a friend and allow yourself all the time in the world to talk!! Buy
flowers for no reason! Crank the radio! SING OUT LOUD!! All these and more are
great examples of celebrating life! We don’t need birthdays and holidays to
limit our celebration of life! Life is to be celebrated EVERY day and in
sharing your gift of the attitude of gratitude with yourself and others, you
help promote thankfulness in others.
Right now, things aren’t necessarily going as I had hoped
in my personal life. I’ve got some roadblocks and speed bumps of my own I am
working to surmount. But, even in the midst of my trying day yesterday, the day
in which I had hoped for answers and got nothing, really, even in THAT day, I
was able to find things to be thankful for and to remain positive about. Sure,
I allowed myself a moment to sit and cry. I’m human, remember? But at the end
of the day, I was able to list things I was thankful for in THAT day. And now,
that day is a memory. I won't dwell on it. I pick up and move on to today. And
in this moment, I am thankful for many things. Yes, it might only be 8:30am,
but I've already awoken with my attitude of gratitude. I recognize what I have
to be thankful for and I will not allow myself to focus on the negative. You
see, I don’t just preach it, I practice
it, too. I don’t just post things on here and then walk away and live a
different life. I try real hard to live the words I write, the images I share,
the advice I give. I live it. Gratitude is a way to reach your own happiness and
the only way to reach that happiness is to allow yourself to accept the gift
you’ve given you. The gift of the attitude of gratitude. Unwrap it! Use it!
Live it every day!
Until next time, my friends……be thankful for simple
things; a gift from a friend, the energy of a child, a random act of kindness,
giggles and laughter, the sunshine, and even the rain!
Think Thankfully
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