Gratitude Attitude

As I sit here today on the precipice of my 50th birthday, I find it fitting to just take a few moments and give thanks.  It’s not hard to do, I have an amazing life so full and rich in so very many ways. For instance, right now, I am sitting on my comfy couch with a loving pup curled up on each side of me and the view out the window of the lush green trees fills my heart with love and peace.

Being able to look for the good things in life doesn’t always come easy to everyone and it certainly didn’t always for me either, but the more you look for it on a regular basis, just like any muscle you work out regularly, the easier it becomes.  I’m not typing this as a goody goody touchy feely, look what I have kind of sentiment.  Just as an overall reminder that what we focus our attention on in life tends to multiply. 

For instance, the part I left out about sitting on the couch with my pups, is that I also have my knee wrapped in an ice pack and elevated because it has been giving me a lot of achy pain for some time now.  I could choose to focus on that and the fact that my aging body doesn’t work as cohesively or cooperatively as it used to.  But what good would that do?  Focusing on pain and suffering only leads to more pain and suffering.  Instead I can thank my knee for showing me and my body that perhaps I could use a slow down and some rest then honor that knowing and actually slow down and rest it.  It might not completely eliminate the pain, but with patience and time, I can give it space to begin to mend instead of working it to the point of no return.

So while I am resting, I can’t help but be grateful for so many of the other seasons and experiences in this life that I have lived so far that on the outside or even at the time didn’t seem like something to be thankful for, but always somehow ended up being a blessing.   

Arguments that taught me about compassion and provided deeper understanding.  Times of hardship that led to new experiences and blessings.  Moments of loneliness that led to late nights talking to the universe and discovering you are never truly alone.   Reason and season friends and acquaintances that come and go into your life sometimes briefly and sometimes after thinking you would have them in your life longer, but always becoming someone new because you knew them.

That’s the thing about life, we never know and we are never really truly in control of what will happen or how it will turn out.  All we can do is make a choice, and all of our choices collectively have consequences.  We can choose to look at our lives and think that it is happening to us, or we can choose to see it as working for us.  That small mind flip can suddenly change everything.

I used to be a lot like the girl in The Labyrinth assuming life wasn’t fair and going along with things begrudgingly and sometimes for the wrong reasons.  Just like in the movie,  once her perspective changes and she realizes that no one/thing had any power over her, I also was given more freedom to see life in a new way as well.   The ironic thing is that once you start seeing it through rosier colored glasses, the more beautiful things there are to notice and be grateful for.  

Oftentimes we can get locked in a loop of looking for what we haven’t got, achieved, visited, or seen yet. We fixate on how hard we work or all of the things we do without seeing the beauty or reward.  If we don’t start with small little notices of what we already have or accomplished then it gets even harder to dig our way out.  One small notice at a time, somehow shifts our life in a completely new direction though.  

I've seen people force themselves to write out 3-5 things to be grateful before bed until it becomes as easy as breathing to spot.  I recently heard of a penny activity where you put 5 pennies in your left pocket and as soon as you notice something good you move one to your right only to discover at some point in the day all the pennies being on the opposite side of where they started.  I’ve even started seeing results from a reverse gratitude list, where you end your day with 3 contributions you made to the world that day.  It can be as easy as acknowledging that you fed your pet or put away your laundry.  Anything that shows you mattered in the world as well.

Again, these things don’t come naturally easy for everyone and they must be practiced regularly to become a muscle that works without effort eventually.  But it works and there are tons of testimonials beyond my own to prove it.

Before we embarked on our 50th birthday adventure, my very dear friend suggested we reflect and take note of our past, present, and future to share together.  One of my favorite exercises was a whim to go back and reflect on all the cool stuff I’ve gotten to see or do so far.  Instead of the standard bucket list of wishes, a reflection of a life well lived.  Suddenly the notebook filled and filled with everything from cool field trips I experienced, to awesome music I was around to hear when it was first unleashed into the world, and the amazing people that have filled my life and still do.

As I grow wiser and more relaxed, I don’t take any gift lightly.  I have a beautiful life full of people, pets, plants and places I love.  It is a blessing to have a big loving family that I care deeply about and that I’m lucky to know care deeply about me.  It’s a privilege to get to make dinner for my family even when what to serve is a question that feels like it might put me over the edge.  I have the honor of getting to interact with so many beautiful humans I encounter during my travels.  And it is a joy to just be able to sit here and be able to type this out to whomever it might reach.  

If you needed to hear this today, you are welcome.  If you just appreciate the reminder, I’m glad to have helped.   If you aren’t ready yet, let it be the seed that may start a gratitude journey eventually.  And if you don’t believe me, I will take a phrase from my youth and “double dog dare you” to prove me wrong.  

Love, Light, and Blessings to You! ❤️🌟🥳