by Leigh
In this season of gratitude like many others, I like to make a list of what I'm thankful for. There is the obvious, of course....my family, my kids, my friends, a roof over my head, food on the table..
but I'm trying to stretch beyond the easy...go past the words that immediately pop into my head when I think of gratitude. I want to spend time reflecting on the gifts in my life. What is this moment right now offering me and how can I show my appreciation for it? Living a grateful life stretches far beyond the month of November. It's available every moment of every day in everything that we do.
Living gratefully is something I want to teach my children. I want it to be second nature to them. But how can I do that if I don't practice what I preach? All of the life principles that my daughter learns at school contribute to a grateful life. Respect....responsibility.....kindness....compassion....generosity. When we live life to the fullest and in the moment we are recognizing that life is a gift. According to gratefulness.org "graceful living is supported by daily practices, habit of mind, and behaviors that are learnable and can be translated and applied to many aspects of our lives." It goes on to say that if we engage in a "basic daily gratefulness practice" our lives will be enriched.
Challenge yourself daily to stop whatever you are doing and devote your full attention to being still. Look at what life is offering you right now. Gratefulness.org suggest asking yourself ones of these questions:
- What am I grateful for right now? or What can I be grateful for right now?
- What opportunity is life presenting me, for which I can be grateful?
Not only will an attitude of gratitude change your life for the better, but it will have a ripple effect among those around you. Go ahead....try it. What are you waiting for?
4 comments:
Love this! When we focus on the positive, on the many things we have to be grateful for, the worries seem fewer and our lives happier. It is such a great lesson to teach the children in our lives and sometimes the reverse happens and they are teaching us!
Such a beautifully written post with an important and timeless message. Yes, it's been proven to be true - living a life of gratitude brings happiness and contentment. My father was always telling us to count small blessings but I never understood until I was an adult. Now his words ring in my heart most every day.
I am completely with you, and I see you living this all the time. How could your children fail to pick up on it? Thanks for the inspiration today, friend.
A great day for a post on gratefulness. We get caught up in all the negative sometime and forget just how fortunate. I'm like Dotti, I didn't realize until I was an adult how important it is to be grateful for not only the big things in life, but for the small things. Gratitude leads to joy, which we can all use more of!
Post a Comment
Thank you for sharing part of your day with us. If for any reason you are unable to leave a comment here on this post, please leave your comment on our Facebook page or in our Flickr discussion group. We love hearing from you!