Gratitude

Throughout my limited writing endeavor I’ve learned many things about life but the one thing that stands out the most is that happiness is a direct and proportional result of gratefulness. I find that I circle back to this fact in nearly every post. I find that I circle back to this fact in nearly every experience in my life. It is, for me, a hard and fast rule of life. Sadly, most people don’t embrace this rule until the time of year when we are bombarded by the media with giving thanks.

Give thanks for these couple months then, come January 1^st, feel free to go back to whining and bitching and complaining!

Ummm, no thanks. What that really translates into is – Be happy for these couple of months then, come January 1^st, feel free to go back to being miserable! A universal truth – the things you focus on will grow in your reality. So, if you focus on the positive then positive things will become abundant. If you focus on the negative, well, I think we’ve all been there at one point or another. It snowballs.

One good thing about the media at this time of year is that they do emphasize the need for compassion and empathy and support for those less fortunate. Help feed the homeless on the holidays. Donate a toy for an orphaned child. Send a care package to our overseas military. Volunteer your time to an ailing child or disabled vet. Yes, these are all important things but the most important concept to realize is how fortunate you yourself are. The majority of us have a home and a family and loved ones and reasonable health and gainful employment. The more we consciously focus on what we have in this realm, instead of focusing on what we don’t have in the material world, the happier and more content we’ll live - at any time of the year.

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.

-  Denis Waitley

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, all!