Having An Attitude Of Gratitude
This weekend is Easter. A time of reflection, family, renewed life, and chocolate of course. Do you spend Easter quietly with your spouse? Or do you have a big gathering with family? Do you participate in an Easter Egg hunt? Or do you read your Bible about Jesus returning? Whichever way you celebrate, having an attitude of gratitude regarding your life is a perfect way to restore peace and be hopeful.
The great gift of Easter is hope … Basil Hume
I have found that the past two years has hardened others. In previous years, I could walk down the street or be in a store and you’d see smiling people out enjoying life. Now, people move away from you if you are too near, walk by with a blank face, or have their faces completely covered at all times. It is like walls have been placed around others trapping away their joy, peace and any hope they may have had. It’s like they have forgotten what to be grateful for. They seem to have an attitude of lack instead of an attitude of gratitude.
Is this you?
I know I myself have gotten trapped into this. I look at friends or even strangers and think ‘why can’t I do that?’ or ‘why can’t I have that?’ I even at times get mad at the world right now and just want things to be back to normal again (whatever that normal way is?… I seem to have forgotten).
To get out of this slump, I need to switch my thinking. You see, your attitude is your thought life inside of you. That little voice – that narrator (if you’ve read a previous blog, you know I have an inside narrator), whispering lies and deceit to you. You need to silence your narrator and speak gratitude.
How do I change?
A great way to begin to see the gratitude instead of the lack is by creating a gratitude journal. You can even do this in a regular journal that your write in daily or even your day timer at the beginning of each day. Every morning, think of 5 things you are grateful for. Write them down. At first, it may be hard, but I promise you that it will get easier.
Each week that you do this, you will see your daily attitude begin to change. You will feel more joy in your life, smile more, be more giving, be more thoughtful, and even have more peace throughout the day.
Here is my gratitude list for the day. I am grateful for:
- My husband. His huge heart for his family (he will drop anything when one of us needs him), his work ethic is outstanding (to the point that I sometime have to remind him to rest), he is in better shape today than when I married him, his sense of adventure, and his undying love for me.
- My children: Although they are now adults, they still need me. When I can be of help to them, ease any stress they may be experiencing or just get a nice big hug from them… it fills my soul.
- My health: I am just shy of 50 and I have not had any serious health issues.
- My Dad: I am grateful that my Dad’s health is good.
- My Home-life: I have been blessed to be able to help others daily and not have to work a 40 hour week. My husband and I have built a life that we can provide for our children, travel, and live daily without any struggle or difficulty.
Those 5 points – after writing them down – fill my heart with so much peace, joy, love, and hope. This Easter, as you sit down to reflect and hopefully think about what you are grateful for, be reminded of the hope and peace God created you to live for. I know there may be struggles, worldly issues, deaths, financial despair or even work stress, but know that every day is new. Each day when you wake up, go through your list of gratitude’s and begin the day with a renewed sense of peace. Easter is a perfect time to start.
Need help starting? Or just want to share your gratitude list? Just click the button below and I can help.