Today we talk about something so simple, but so powerful. The word gratitude is thrown around a lot especially around Thanksgiving and the holidays. But in February... love month... the beginning of a new year, it is just as important.
Simply noticing and acknowledging the goodness in our lives can be a powerful practice. And I do not mean being thankful for money or gifts or those big things. I am talking about gratitude for the little things that we need for survival and that keep us going.
I recently watched this man crossing the street. He was in a wheelchair. Not an electric one. He was working so hard pushing and pulling to cross the street. Using every muscle in his arms to propel himself forward to the other side. Cars were driving around him as he was taking longer than the light. I watched him slowly get to other side and continue on his way. Part of me felt horrible for not leaving my car and helping him across. Part of me felt amazed by the strength he needed to simply cross a street.
This experience made me think of the simple things that I take for granted. Working legs. Strength in my body. Breath in my lungs. The ability to cross a street without having to think about it and without having to use all the strength in my body to get to the other side.
This is the gratitude I am talking about. We often have it so much easier than the people around us. This is not to boast about but to be thankful for. So even when we are having a bad day or struggling to get through the big things, slow down and try to find gratitude for the small things. Small things for us that could be big things to someone else. Even if everything is falling apart in our lives, there is something we have that we can feel thankful for.
I heard once that the things we have are the things that other people are praying for. Be grateful. Sometimes things are so much better than we feel they are if we just look at them from a different angle.
