This quote was shared with me by a friend of mine a few weeks ago. I've been saving it for Thanksgiving, because I think it is perfectly fitting for the theme of the holiday. It is true that the simple things in life, the every day blessings, without which our lives would be so barren, are often the ones that we frequently overlook when counting our fortunes. I am personally guilty of getting caught up in the every day madness, only to lose sight of the gifts that are placed before me each and every minute. It's truly vital to take a breath, refocus, and concentrate on we have, not just during the holidays, but throughout the year. Some days that is easier to do that than others. Some days we have more clarity. Regardless of how easy it is, the blessings are always present. The key is in how hard we feel like searching.
I recently read on another friend's blog, that she was challenged to find something good each day for 30 days. She then posted her findings. What a fantastic challenge! I think this is a challenge we could all stand to benefit from. Why stop at 30 days? Isn't this something we could do every day, something easy that could be done before even getting out of bed? Why not challenge ourselves to start off every day thinking of one thing that we are grateful for? It doesn't have to be big, or even something that anyone else would consider a blessing. The idea is simple; to start off the day on a positive note, view the world with a fresh perspective, and truly see the greatness in even the smallest of gifts.
I have mentioned before that I am working on changing my own attitude. I see little indications of my moods reflected in Jacob's behavior that I don't like. I have moments when I am over-reacting to situations, times when I step outside of myself and don't like my tone of voice, my demeanor, my stance. I see people around me who have worse attitudes than I do, people who have mean and ugly souls, people who have allowed the world to beat them down for whatever reason. Some of them have excuses, some of them do not. On the flip side, I see people like my Aunt Carmen, who have all the reason in the world to be mean and ugly and yet would never dream of it. When I think of who I am, and who I want to become, my goal is not to become downtrodden by life's stresses, but to rise above them somehow. I believe the key to that lies first and foremost in our core, in our attitude, our faith, and gratitude for the simple things in life.
Yes, it is easy to say these things when most of life is going well. It is easy to apply these principles during the good times. However, isn't it during the calm, that we establish the foundation for the storms? You don't build a house during a tornado. Likewise, you don't try to revamp your mental inventory during a crisis either. Truth be told, my life at this point is mostly good. The boys are healthy, my parents and Greg's parents are healthy, as is the rest of the family. Greg and I have secure jobs, a house we love, enough food on the table, and great friends all around. However, my head is still killing me many days, and I haven't slept in months. No, it's not life threatening, but I don't feel well. I haven't felt well for going on two years now. To be perfectly honest, although it is not terminal, it's not something that I enjoy either. I try not to complain about it much anymore. Greg hears more about it than anyone else, and I'm sure he's sick of hearing it too. Even just the smallest chronic illness really takes a toll on a person's ability to cope with daily life and to maintain a positive attitude. The point is not to complain about my head. The point is that, although things are going well for me, I also have some little glitches that I am trying to iron out. I often think just because I don't feel well, doesn't mean that my family needs to suffer as well. It is probably the main reason why I have felt such a pressing need to change my own attitude. Perhaps I am hoping in changing my attitude, I will change the way I feel too...
This Thanksgiving, as well as every other day of the year, I hope that you all are able to take a look at not only the big blessings in your life, but also the small ones. I leave you with one last quote, and a sincere wish for a blessed Thanksgiving:
"Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you'll look back and realize they were the big things." - Robert Brault
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