If you can read these lines, then you have the incredible pleasure of existing, and you have the privilege to enjoy living on this beautiful planet. The few billion years before that, unfortunately, you were absent. There wasn’t even our fantastic earth and as far as the remaining eons are concerned, life most likely will continue without you.
The right to live, in the here and now, is the greatest reason for gratitude. To still be here! How about appreciation for health, youth, age, good friends, a comfortable life in a rich country, the possibility of democratic choices, water, enough food, a warm bed, a good job, the internet, or the delicious, warm chocolate pudding in the canteen yesterday?
No one has everything, neither the happiest nor the richest person in the world, but there are many reasons for gratitude like there are screws in the hardware store.
Those who rarely feel gratitude are often moody and also stand in the way of their own happiness.
Those who take everything for granted never find the way to true appreciation, because if everything is self-evident, nothing is respected, and everything soon seems worthless and pointless.
So count your daily blessings, be grateful, and enjoy the happiness of your life! When was the last time you said THANK YOU just for being?
Life can change in the blink of an eye. What we enjoy today, can be gone tomorrow!
The past happened, the present is indeed a gift, and tomorrow is uncertain.
Live! Stay in the moment! Be grateful! Be thankful!
I follow so many bloggers who appear to be trapped in the past. The ongoing daily negativity with every blog post they write, it’s like they are feeding their own misery. No matter what happened, you are still here!
Even if you can’t see it, you have much to be grateful for, and much to be thankful for.
If you’re truly heartfeltly grateful for a single thing every day, that’s all it takes. Less (gratitude) is more (real gratitude)!
Write a success journal and ask yourself:
- What am I grateful for?
- What is valuable in my life?
- What do I enjoy in my life?
- What is positive in my life?
- What inspires me in my life?
- What is indispensable in my life?
- What makes me happy in my life?
Give it a try!
Hindsight is 20/20 and at this point in life I think both of us are more likely to filter out the negative and remember only the positive and thus to be grateful for it.
I filter out the negativity of the news and negative people, but I still notice everything negative around me. It’s hard not to.
I get in a rut from time to time but find a gratitude list very helpful to get out of it. Great post!
Yes, be thankful🙌🏾
I am in complete agreement with you, Bridget. I think so often that my daily routines are very unexciting and typically a bit repetitive, but as you mention, in a blink of an eye my ability to enjoy these ordinary days could come to an end. We see so much sadness and unhappiness in our broken world, and often as my head hits the pillow at night I reflect with gratitude that I have a place to rest my weariness and health being relatively stable and good, I’m truly wealthy. This was a beautiful piece, and I’m so glad you shared it.
“In our broken world” oh so true. As a child I had high hopes, that we, our generation, would do remarkable things.
We were the first and second generation born in peace after WWII. It seems many have forgotten and now they feel they are entitled to everything they want. We are broken! You got it right.
A good reminder that there’s always something good to find in life. In my case quite many. Thanks! I think I needed one.
I guess we all do need a reminder once in a while.
So very true! We need more gratitude and less negativity. We have so much to be grateful for ❤️
We do, we just forget.
Carlos words are profound! And apt for me today. Having a sense of gratitude helped me with some intense grief in my life. Thanks for sharing this today.
I love his quote, so much wisdom.
I used to post assorted quotes years back as I found the old wisdoms completely fascinating. One other blogger and I were intending to publish a book but it has been in hiatus for over 2 years……
I like your thinking. I don’t do it every day, but I certainly thank my lucky stars pretty often, Bridget.
You come across as humble. 🙂
🤗💗
Beautiful post you are right nothing is permanent in life , life can change within a blink and we should be grateful to all whatever we have got in life. Well shared thank you 😊🌹👍
Thank you, Priti. Life itself is something to be grateful for, sometimes we forget.
It’s pleasure of mine stay happy forever 🌹😊
We have much to be thankful for – starting with life.
Thank you, Derrick
“Live! Stay in the moment! Be grateful! Be thankful!” Yes! This mantra is huge and important for people to recognize as being such a simple and easy solution towards a fulfilling and love-filled life. Great post!
For many it seems to be hard to stay in the moment. There is much to reflect, regrets, worries. Sometimes we forget.
What am I grateful for?
What is valuable in my life?
What do I enjoy in my life?
What is positive in my life?
What inspires me in my life?
What is indispensable in my life?
What makes me happy in my life?
Without being overly presumptuous, or sickly, or deep, there are so many things, and so many people, that fit the listed criteria, and one of those people is you Bridget!
What a nice thing to say. Thank you, Peter, for making my day. 🙂 Have a great weekend.
I recount what I am grateful for every night before going to sleep – even the smallest things count – and this makes me appreciate my circumstances and where I am all the more.
The older I get, the more I realize how fortunate, privileged and lucky I have been all my life. It’s easy to count the good things if your outlook is right.
Great post! I keep a gratitude journal, and I write it in at least once a week. Your list of questions is a good way to think about various positive aspects of our lives. Your post reminds me a quote from one of my favorite authors – Bill Bryson. The quote is from his commencement speech. You can Google the speech; my guess is you would like it. The quote – “Take a moment from time to time to remember that you are alive. I know this sounds a trifle obvious, but it is amazing how little time we take to remark upon this singular and gratifying fact. By the most astounding stroke of luck an infinitesimal portion of all the matter in the universe came together to create you and for the tiniest moment in the great span of eternity you have the incomparable privilege to exist.”
I started writing a journal when I changed my diet, it started as food-pain journal and became so much more. I did like the speech 🙂
Thank you for the reminder. I try to journal every day and recognize what I have to be grateful for. The days that I miss I find my day goes a lot more difficult. Counting your blessings has so many benefits.
I journal every day as well. What started as a Pain-Food journal is not a Happiness-Gratitude journal. The pain and the food is just something I monitor, it’s not the main focus anymore.
Grateful…
🙂
💞
Beautiful blog post and so very true. 💜
Thank you Tarot of the Missing.