Hello, its me. Yes I kind of dropped off the planet for a bit there. Life has been, shall we say, interesting over the last few weeks. The kind of interesting referred to in the famous Chinese curse "may you live in interesting times". The kind of interesting that makes you crave mundane.
While the last few weeks may not have been the greatest, they have reminded me that even when things are pretty darn crappy, I am still an inordinately lucky person in the greater scheme of things, and that is why I wanted to write today's happiness post about gratitude.
Gratitude has for many come to have a negative tone. It is almost like an insult or a put down when someone is told they should be grateful. It somehow signifies grovelling and giving thanks to some other person. I don't think about it like that.
For me, having gratitude in my life is about being aware of the many wonderful, blessed aspects of my life. About remembering that most people in the world don't have the same worries about me, but they also don't have the same comforts. About knowing that the love which surrounds my life eludes many. Gratitude is about not taking these blessings for granted but remembering that I am lucky to enjoy them.
Each night, just before I go to bed I take a deep breath and try to blow the stress of the day away. I focus on all the things I'm grateful for, a loving partner, a family of enormous strength and love, friends without comparison. I thank the fates that allowed me to be born and grow up in a peaceful, wealthy country, that gave me the strong education which allows me to work in a fulfilling job providing me with my warm cosy home and a wardrobe of pretty dresses.
And when I get overwhelmed by the incomprehensible actions of others and I feel frustrated and angry, I do my best to take a step back and remember that the wonderful parts of my life outweigh the bad by an exponential amount, even if the bad can be more in your face. At the end of the day, I am grateful, I am for the most part lucky, and despite everything I truly am happy.
This post is one of the many reasons I love reading your blog - and you sum up so well what so many of us would benefit from remembering. I have found in the last few years that I am more consciously grateful and it does make a world of difference during those 'interesting' patches. I hope your life does settle down a bit too though!
ReplyDelete