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Gratitude

 


Tis the season of gratitude. It is time to reflect on my situation in life. It’s easy to complain about things. Everybody has challenges. Everyone is touched by sadness. But you have a choice whether to dwell on the negatives or be grateful for the positives. Dwelling on the bad does not make your problems go away. It does not make you feel better. It makes you feel worse. It is unhealthy to hold on to anger, regret, worry. In short, there is no reason to do it. Yet, it is human nature to do so.

A good tool in the arsenal to fight against that tendency is to practice gratitude.  Count your blessings, as they say. You don’t have to be religious to practice gratitude. You can thank God, or fate or the laws of thermodynamics. The important thing is to recognize the good things that have come to you. In my case I can be thankful that I grew up in a caring family and had good friends. I never wanted for food or medicine or anything truly important. I have been able to pursue creative outlets. And I have always had a roof over my head. There are people on this world who are far worse off than me who can nonetheless, find joy in life. So what’s my excuse?

It is not just the “good” things that should be appreciated. I can be thankful for my failures or the moments I am not proud of which taught me lessons. I am thankful for the struggles that taught me to work hard. I can be grateful for delays that irritate me, but also force me to slow down. I can be thankful for my grief, because you can’t have grief without feeling the full impact of love.

 

In this busy world, we sometimes overlook gratitude. It behooves us not to.

Star Liner

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