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In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Yesterday I kept thinking about how the world is changing and not all for the better. Why do we need to shop on Thanksgiving day? I believe that small changes can create the opportunity for change. I remember when I made the conscious effort to be more grateful. It started by signing emails "With Gratitude" even when it was difficult. This helped me to realize that I needed to be grateful for those who caused me pain because they also caused me to grow as a person. I began a journal just for listing things and people that I am grateful for having in my life. I wrote in it each night before I went to sleep.This lead to another journal where I worked through difficult experiences until I could feel genuinely thankful for them. This, of course, is still a work in process. I am still working on being grateful for Chicago's long, grey, cold winters. So I hope you will join in me making gratitude a habit because with gratitude also comes acceptance and kindness and happiness. I am grateful for you!
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I also started a gratitude journal a few years ago and wrote in it at bedtime. Sometimes I forget to write in it for months at a time (when I'm feeling really good), but when I feel down I turn to it. I used to live outside of Chicago, and I can tell you for certain that the gray is worse here in the Northwest! I've already hung white icicle lights all around the livingroom and kitchen and they go on as soon as I get up. They help.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteGrateful is something I try to consciously do each morning when I get up. We are blessed to live in the middle of nature with a wonderous view of the river and mountains.. A beautiful reminder of how great our world is, and we are blessed to live in this time of the Universe. And to live in a country where we are still free to enjoy.
ReplyDeleteDH happened to hear an op-ed piece on the radio about stores opening on Thanksgiving Day and about the responsibility each of us bears to NOT go shopping (more shoppers = more open stores = longer hours = decrease in respect for the holiday = greater likelihood that non-retail employers will cease to respect the longstanding tradition of being closed Thanksgiving Day + Friday . . . and so the dominos continue to fall).
ReplyDeleteI, too, keep a gratitude journal - and it DOES make a difference.
Great post, Karen. (long winters make us grateful for the arrival of spring's warmer breezes?)
Excellent post -- DH heard an op-ed piece on the radio re: stores opening on Thanksgiving Day (early, late, at all). Their point was that each of us needs to STAY HOME, otherwise the merchants will think shoppers LIKE them being open and open earlier and longer - thus diminishing the value of the holiday to the point that non-retail employers stop the practice of being closed 2 days for Thanksgiving . . . food for thought!
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