I Am Thankful For....
I wish I could take credit for having written this wonderful piece on being thankful. Bless the author for reminding us to switch our perceptions from complaints to gratitudes.
I am thankful for the wife who says its hot dogs tonight, because she is home with me and not out with someone else.
I am thankful for the husband who is on the sofa being a couch potato because he is home with me and not out at the bars.
I am thankful for the teenager who is complaining about doing the dishes because it means she/he is at home and not on the streets.
I am thankful for the taxes I pay because it means I am employed.
I am thankful for the mess I clean after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends.
I am thankful for the clothes that fit too snug because it means I have enough to eat.
I am thankful for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing, because it means I have a home to live in.
I am thankful for my huge heating bill, because it means I am warm.
I am thankful for the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking and I have been blessed with transportation.
I am thankful for the lady in church who sings off key because it means I can hear.
I am thankful for the pile of laundry because it means I have clothes to wear.
I am thankful for the pile of laundry because it means I have clothes to wear.
I am thankful for the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means I am alive.
Until you return, fill your days with GRATITUDE, JOY, APPRECIATION!
This inspires me to adopt as a personal practice questioning those things which I wish I did not have to deal with--that is, finding a moment of stillness and, in that stillness, questioning the painful thoughts which lead to ingratitude.
For example, I can stop and ask: "Is it true that I don't want to have dirty dishes in the sink?" When I can look beyond the dirty dishes to the perception that I have dishes, I have a kitchen to prepare meals in, I have a house in which all of this happens -- I find I can actually *be grateful* for the dirty dishes! They are a powerful symbol of the incredible gifts which life has given me. And if I can wash them with a lighter heart, all the better.
Reply to this
I appreciate your comment, Tom. I know it will inspire others as it inspires me. And isn't that the real challenge, finding gratitude in the things we would rather not deal with! I am thankful for YOU!
Reply to this