Gratitude

A big word. G- R- A –T- I- T- U- D- E.

grat·i·tude  (grt-td, -tyd)

n.

The state of being grateful; thankfulness.

[Middle English, from Old French, probably from Late Latin grtitd, from Latin grtus, pleasing; see g^wer-² in Indo-European roots.]

Thankfulness.  Another word, like gratitude.

Everyday I try to practice gratitude for everything I have in my life.  People, things, experiences that help me grow. Comments like: you did a great job, that’s nice…. 

I strive everyday to let the people in my life know I appreciate them without any expectation. 

It is a strange thing.  We all have a certain amount of “wanting it to be about me” in us.  I want this, I want someone to say I am so great or did something great. 

Many of us didn’t receive enough accolades as youngsters to feel filled up.

How can you give something you didn’t receive?

I for one have discovered that if I just think outside myself, think from another person’s perspective, “how would I like to be treated” and act accordingly things are better.

Back to gratitude. At a certain stage in life I think in order to move forward with self development some thankfulness is in order.  We have roof’s over our heads, food in our mouths, clothes we like wearing, a measure of comfort. This alone is worth being thankful for.  And then there are our families, whether they are the ones we are born into or the ones we create. 

We are all here to have a human experience. 

And we get to make a choice. We always get to make a choice: to be kind, thankful and grateful or to be snarly, mean and ungrateful.

It’s that time of year. Fall. The holiday season where we gather with our families and friends. The weather is cold, the trees change the color of their leaves, the earth signals change to us. I am thankful for the seasons. I love fall. The colors of the leaves falling on the trees are exquisite and breathtakingly beautiful to me.

I am thankful.  I am grateful. When I feel fussy about things that aren’t happening how I would like, I try to focus on something I am grateful for and that’s how I flow through my hard times. And all times.

I try to think of as many things to be thankful for as I can. It calms me. Can you think of five things you are grateful for?