The Attitude is Gratitude
7th February 2020
It really is true what they say, ‘you don’t know what you have until it is gone’.
Why do we have a tendency to preoccupy ourselves with thoughts and ideas of all that we don’t have and all that we might be missing out on?
We spend out lives waiting for something better or regretting the past. As a generation- we are never satisfied. We need to learn how to be grateful, how to appreciate what we have, and all that we will receive.
It is only when I catch a cold, I realise how nice it feels to be able to breathe through my nose. Only when my car is broken do I realise how amazing it is to have the freedom my car gives me.
Only when we stop and think, are our eyes opened to the opportunities and wonders all around us.
Why? – This is because our minds run around, completely freely, we do not realise that our focus is not where we are, or where it should be, in that moment. Our focus is almost always somewhere else. Everywhere around you there is a blessing, and if you take a few minutes to notice where you are, what is going on around you- you’ll see them.
So, I pledge to you, take that moment right now.
Take a look at what you’re doing. You’re here, reading this blog… a very obvious thing to be grateful for is that fact that you’re READING this blog. You can see (and there are some beautiful things to see in the world), you have the ability to read, the ability to understand these words on a page.
What has carried you to be where you are today?
Mine would be my wonderful family, and my fabulous friends. They’re my driving force and I would not be where I am without them- have you ever thought about what yours is? If not, take a minute to have a think.
In relationships, people often get ‘too comfortable’ and as a result of this become complacent. For some, this then results in infidelity and the destruction of a once strong relationship. Only after the relationship has been destroyed will that individual realise the awful and irreversible mistake that they made. However, once at this point, it tends to be too late; the person failed to realise just how lucky they were, how fortunate they were to have something so special and as a result destroyed something/someone they loved.
It’s sad really isn’t it? It’s sad that we are all so wrapped up in what ‘could be’ making us happy, we can end up completely ignoring the things that truly do make us happy.
The reason we take things for granted is because we don’t ever think we won’t have it, or think that we will always be able to find it again. Every day, millions of people’s lives are changed forever. This might be for the better, this might sadly be for the worst.
Once you become more oriented toward identifying things you have to be grateful for, you’ll find that you start to appreciate life’s simple pleasures and things that you previously overlooked. Gratitude shouldn’t be just a reaction to getting something you want, but a constant. A Gratitude attitude, is the kind where you notice all the little things daily, where you always look for the positives- even in unpleasant situations.
One final pledge from me- Today, you should start bringing gratitude to your everyday experiences, rather than waiting for a positive experience to come to you in order for you to feel grateful.
“When you expect nothing from the world – not the light of the sun, the wet of water, nor the air to breathe – everything is a wonder and every moment a gift.”
-Michael J. Sullivan, Percepliquis (2010)