An Attitude Of Gratitude

I love this time of year…the mashed taters and gravy, the pumpkin pie, the candied yams (who needs turkey?), family all gathered together under one roof sharing in the abundance of love, food and the tradition of giving thanks—yes , November is the month we celebrate Thanksgiving.  In an effort to fully embrace the season this year and the meaning thereof, I took a little time to ponder this subject.

I recently had the experience of mingling amongst a group of folks who seemed especially determined to grumble about everything they did NOT have, about how life had dealt them an “unfair hand.”  I watched them as they interacted with others, seemingly disregarding anybody’s feelings but their own.   After some time it become very apparent to me that these people were not quite the “victims” they were claiming to be, but rather, had impaired their ability to attract abundance and prosperity by failing to see how truly privileged and blessed they actually were.   In that moment I vowed to never become one of “those people.”

Gratitude is a learned behavior.  Sometimes this can be difficult, especially when you are in the midst of hardship.  We often have a tendency to remember bad things that happen to us and forget about all of the goodness that still surrounds us.  It is for this reason that I am a firm believer in keeping a gratitude journal.

I know we’ve probably all heard of this simple practice a time (or two) before, and maybe started one that later became a good place to jot down the weekly grocery list.  Ahem.  If you already have and are currently keeping a gratitude journal…kudos to you!  You’re already harvesting the benefits that come from acknowledging the many blessings you enjoy each day.  If you don’t have a gratitude journal, now is the perfect time to start one.  There are only a few rules you must adhere to when keeping such a record.

1. Don’t write any negative thoughts in your journal.
2. It doesn’t work if you don’t write it down!
3. Absolutely nothing negative goes in the gratitude journal.

Was I clear enough?  Good.

Motherhood is amongst the most selfless of service.  Sometimes at the end of the day our cups can feel bone dry.  I chuckle when I look back over some of my entries from the past, especially when my twins were just tiny and my husband was still in school.  My how those days they did drag, and at the time I thought they would never end!  Some days all I could think about all day long was the hour in which bedtime would arrive, when I could tuck in my little trolls and retreat to crash in my own soft place.   A couple of my entries include things like “Today I am thankful for a quiet moment, so I could think.” or “TWENTY minutes of reading time this afternoon!” because that was generally a time they would quietly listen, but only for about 10 minutes, then there were done.   Looking back I realize just how wrong I was about that time…it flew right by me, leaving scarcely a breeze.  But oh, how I treasure those little jotted down memories!

Harness the power of developing an “attitude of gratitude.”  Take the opportunity to celebrate this special time of year by embracing this practice, and in doing so, discover the dramatic improvements in your lives and the lives of those who surround you.  Happy journaling and many happy returns!