Sometimes things happen in our lives that aren’t all that great. But when we develop a true attitude of gratitude we can truly be grateful for all things. Whether they appear to be great or not, we make them great because we are grateful for them. And when we are grateful for everything in our life, then everything in our life because more joyful.
Here are some examples in my own life:
I am grateful that I am divorced. Not because my marriage fell apart but because I’m divorced I’ve been able to learn a lot about myself and some things that I can improve on in my relationships with others including myself. As well as the many relationships I have been able to develop with others who are also experiencing divorce and being single and learning from them. And I’ve discovered things that I’m capable of doing that I never thought I could do.
I am grateful I have scoliosis. Not because I have a crooked spine that causes me physical pain at times but because I have a crooked spine I have been able to meet some of the greatest massage therapists, yoga instructors and energy workers that are working with me to help strengthen and even correct it a bit. And I am able to love myself even with a crooked spine and be loved and accepted by others.
I am grateful I was overweight and unhealthy. Not because I was overweight and unhealthy but because I was overweight and unhealthy I learned how to eat and exercise properly and take care of myself physically and now I experience a good healthy weight and lifestyle. And I am able to stay that way because I know the difference in how I feel and I choose to maintain the healthier happier way.
I am grateful I was depressed. Not because I was depressed but because I was depressed I learned that I didn’t like feeling that way and when I was able to find a more joyful way to live and think and feel about myself and my life, being depressed was something to be grateful for because I now know how good not being depressed feels and I choose to stay in that joyful way of living.
I am grateful I have wayward children that are struggling in life. Not because they are wayward and struggling to find their way in life but because they are, I am able to love and accept and support them in ways that I wouldn’t be able to otherwise. I am also able to love and accept myself and not feel guilty or blame myself as if their choices was something that I did wrong causing them to choose as they are. And I am able to trust that they are experiencing just what they need to experience in order to learn and grow from their own experiences in life just as I am mine.
I could go on with other examples but hopefully you get the idea here.
Basically something that doesn’t seem so great can be turned great as we turn it into something to be grateful for. Often that is in looking to the lessons learned from experiencing such an experience. Other times it can be in experiencing the opposite and appreciating the difference between the two. By having experienced the one you didn’t like as much, you can be grateful for it because it helps you want to choose to stay with the better feeling option. And sometimes it can be in simply trusting that whatever happened no matter how bad it may seem, is for your growth and learning and for the growth and learning of those we love. And finally with everything that does happen there is always an opportunity to give and receive love. Being able to experience things that help us grow and learn in life and any opportunity to give and receive love…is indeed something to be grateful for!
“If we want to keep the blessings of life coming to us, we must learn to be grateful for whatever is given.” —Harold Klemp
The more we are grateful for all things in life, the more we will get in life to be grateful for. That doesn’t always mean just getting more money, or a better job or house, or relationship, although those things definitely are things to be grateful for and I believe we will get more of them the more we are grateful for them. Does that mean then that the more we are grateful for hard things, the more hard things we’ll get? I don’t think it necessarily means that. Rather I believe that the more we are grateful for the lessons we learn and the love we give and receive through those hard things…that’s what we’ll get more of…more learning, more growth, and more love! Those sound like great things to be grateful for and get more of to me! Thus being grateful for your experiences to learn and love will give you more experiences to learn and love. That’s just the way being grateful works! They may be hard experiences they may not but they will be the experiences that you alone need to experience in your life in order to provide you with the greatest opportunity to learn and to love and to be grateful for!
What challenges are you experiencing in life that you can be grateful for? What lessons are you learning and how are you giving and receiving love from them?
