Have You Ever Felt True Gratitude?

Accompanied by the song "Gratitude" by the Beastie Boys.

I was driving home from Bolton last night after visiting my very good friend Lindsay and her new baby, and I was thinking about my blog. I have been struggling about what topic to write about this week, and what my heart wants to say, and then it came to me - GRATITUDE!  I’ve written about this before, but I really wanted to do something different this time with this topic...so I’m deciding to write about what I’m grateful for EVERY DAY!  I’m trying to challenge myself to be more disciplined with my writing and to really grasp the concept of gratitude. I think most people (which definitely includes myself) take for granted the things we receive in life. The fact that we wake up breathing and alive is something to be grateful for. The fact that we are able to walk, talk, hear or see is something to be grateful for as there are many people who don’t have that luxury in this world. We walk around life unaware of the gifts that are around us because it’s just daily life to us. Remember how amazing you feel once you come back from a really great trip, where your perspective shifts and you feel so grateful for the experience? Well the gratitude and awe that we feel traveling to different countries or cultures can be infused into everyday life, as every single day gives us something new and exciting to discover. We just have to stop long enough to take a proper look. However, instead of being grateful, we abuse our bodies, abuse the earth, work too much, play too hard, and take advantage of the life we are given without much respect. How many people don’t spend enough time with family or friends because there is “always tomorrow”? How many people watch too much T.V. or spend too much time on the computer instead of spending time outside enjoying nature or the weather because there is “always tomorrow?”  It’s easy to get caught up in this way of living because no one expects to kick the bucket the next day, and I’m not saying to live in fear of dying either, but maybe knowing that it's a luxury to live another day will give us a bit of motivation to love every day we are alive. There is the saying “live like it’s your last day on earth”, which can translate into "live with gratitude that you have seen another beautiful day and take advantage of it!" I’ve talked about myself wasting time on things I don’t need to be wasting my energy on (fear for one thing), and that’s why I wanted to start this new project.  I’ve had a lot of conversations with family members and friends about this subject, as I have fallen into many of the patterns mentioned above. I, for a long time, wasn’t feeling any joy in life and definitely wasn’t feeling much gratitude for it. Instead all I felt was anger, and was talking more about what I wasn’t getting in life, rather than what I do have. I pretty much was saying to myself everyday that the life I made for myself was shit, and that the universe, God, or whatever you want to call it, is shit too (because you know...he was the one that dropped me on this Earth). The apartment I had wasn’t good enough, the job I had wasn’t good enough, my car wasn’t good enough, my bank account CERTAINLY wasn’t good enough,  my clothes weren’t good enough, the weather wasn’t good enough, and eff those laundry machines in the basement!!! They were shit as well!!!! I just kept manifesting constant shit due to all this lack of gratitude and negative thinking. I’m not saying that someone can’t have a bad day because everyone does as we are human, but with that said there’s also a lesson in gratitude when we are having that bad day. We can be grateful that it teaches us to look at ourselves in the mirror and see what we need to change in order to live the life we want. We can be grateful that while at rock bottom, we see the strength we have in ourselves to rise back up from the hole we fell in. We can also be grateful for seeing that what we thought life was supposed to be about (material things, jobs, success) isn't all that it's cracked up to be. You really learn to prioritize what's important. The trick is to learn this before you hit rock bottom. 

     In my own reality, I have a place to live, some money in the bank, a car, great friends, a psychotic but cute dog, a shirt on my back, three million jobs, and a pretty close family (despite the problems we have). Nature is also providing me with its beauty and its resources every day. That seems like a damn lot to be grateful for.  What makes me think that the world owes me anything?? It does NOT. It’s a privilege to be supported by the earth and by the people around me, not a given. So THANK YOU EVERYONE! And THANK YOU WORLD! Life is perfect because it's happening how it should be for each of us. We just have to enjoy it. Gratitude brings about joy in your life because you are so thankful for the things you receive, and don’t expect anything back. You start to value and respect things around you instead of taking them for granted, so wish me luck! Maybe this process will help me stop losing my cameras! 

Don’t be afraid to drop a comment or two about what you’re grateful for! We can ALL start a movement of gratitude!!!!! Yeehaw! Have a great weekend everyone! Make it the best one yet!