Monday, July 22, 2013

Gratitude

I think we all forget at times to be grateful for what's good in our lives.

I know that when things are going well (and they usually are), it's easy to forget to appreciate that.  It's even easier to forget to appreciate the good things when something goes wrong.  And by things going wrong, I don't usually mean something catastrophic like a cyclone or an earthquake or a death of a close family member.  I mean a lousy day at work, a burnt dinner, or the dog eating the newspaper.

In the grand scheme of things, how badly do incidents like that affect us?  We might have had a bad day at work, with the boss in a bad mood and more duties to fulfill than we have time, but we have a job.  Maybe not the greatest, maybe not what we really want to do, but something that pays the bills.  Dinner set off the fire alarm?  I'm willing to bet that there's something else in the pantry or refrigerator we could eat.  We're not starving.  The dog ate the paper?  Hey, we know HE'S not starving... and maybe the news would have been too depressing to read anyway (there's always the television, radio, or Internet for those gluttons for punishment who just HAVE to keep up with current events.)

No, mostly we let the petty annoyances distract us from the good and wonderful in our lives.  Why?  Maybe we feel we don't really deserve to have so much good given to us.  Maybe we're afraid that there's going to be some big trade-off for the good stuff.  Or maybe we just take it for granted that the good is supposed to happen and anything that runs counter to that is just unfair.

I try to make it a habit to be grateful for the little things: a beautiful sunset, the rain (especially the rain!), a smile from a loved one, a day where things run relatively smoothly.  It makes me appreciate the really big things even more.

Blogging on the back deck... something to be thankful for!
 

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