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Be grateful, count Your Blessings
Abraham Lincoln said, "most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." Happiness is not a place where we arrive one day after years of toil and self sacrifice. It is part of the current
that carries us forward on our journey- buoying us as we relish the ups, downs, tempests, and calm times that characterize life's sea. Choosing to have fun, to like what we are doing instead of grumbling or
complaining about where we are, is our choice. Do we have a warm place to sleep? Do we have food to eat? Do we have clothes? Do we have family and friends who care? Do we read and write? Do we live in a safe place?
There are so many things for which we are grateful! A furnace that keeps us warm. A soft bed. Running water. Electricity. Loving family. We are truly living a life of abundance!
Giving thanks for all that we have is giving. Giving creates space for receiving. The more grateful we are the more likely we are to have more about which to be grateful. When we give thanks for what we have it helps
us to recognize the success we have in our lives.
Counting our blessings and being grateful are ways to validate the plateau that we have achieved in our quests for higher heights. When we know where we are, we can safely move on. Life is a mountain climb. We see in the distance a lofty peak - it’s our goal. Each time we come to the top of a hill along the way, we can see where we came from. From this new vantage point, we can see a new goal. The peak in the distance is not so far and the path to the peak is more obvious. When we eventually get to the top of our peak, will there be yet another goal in the distance? Life is a journey. Counting our blessings and being grateful makes progress easier because it acknowledges the progress that we have made. By looking back on “how far we’ve come” the path ahead becomes more doable.
Try this:
Give thanks whenever you can for all that you have. Look for opportunities to be grateful for your possessions, family, friends and job. Use your gratitude and feelings of accomplishment as a springboard to achieve
and have more. Look back on how far you’ve come. Enjoy the view. Aspire to higher heights.
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