Gratitude...

It being the month of November and with Thanksgiving coming up, I have had gratitude on my mind more than usual. I think that is why I really love Thanksgiving. It is so powerful to remember to be grateful - I feel happier and more excited about life in general; I really should feel gratitude more often. Here is an article outlining some research about how gratitude has been scientifically proven to provide a healthier, happier life.

The Power of "Thank you"

This quote by Sarah Ban Breathnach has really touched me and I've been thinking a lot about it lately:
"Both abundance and lack [of abundance] exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend . . . when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present—love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us [happiness]—the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth." (Sarah Ban Breathnach, in John Cook, comp., The Book of Positive Quotations, 2nd ed. (2007), 342.)

To me, this means that if I look at life with a positive, thankful attitude, I won't see as much of the negative or cynical that could be around me. And I believe it. I think I've been more likely to see negativism when I don't think about what I have been blessed with.

For example, when we find out that we could have to replace the transmission in one of our vehicles, instead of complaining about the amount of money we had just put into the car, I could focus on the fact that we have another vehicle and access to one more tp help us get by.
When I have a long day at school and I get frustrated with my students, instead of complaining and getting really grumpy, I should remember that I don't have nearly as many problems as other people with their students and there are lots of other people who have long days at work.
If I have the stomach flu, I can be grateful that it will go away soon and that I won't have to spend thousands of dollars to get well.
If I feel sleepy, hungry or restless, I can be grateful that I still have a good bed to sleep in, food to feed me, and the true gospel of Jesus Christ to guide me.
When I am frustrated with people I love, I can be grateful that I have people to love who love me in return.
When silly little things go wrong or I get super busy & crazy or people expect a lot of me, I can be grateful that "things" aren't really what matter, that at least I have the energy and physical capability to be "busy," and that people trust me with their expectations.
There are a lot of things I can - and should - be grateful for. There are many more things I should express my gratitude about and I'm sure I could adopt a more positive perspective on life in general. So here it goes . . .
I'm grateful that I have everyday, every minute, to realize things I need to change about myself and the chance to be able to do so.