Attitude Of Gratitude

-Devlyn Steele

The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts.

No Americans have been more impoverished then these who,

nevertheless, set aside a day for thanksgiving.

-H.U. Westermayer

2009? Wow, what a year. For many this has been a year of obstacles, stress, worry and fear. It's hard to imagine how to remain grateful despite the many problems we have faced. Interestingly enough, it's now more than ever that we need to be grateful.

I have learned, in whatever state I am in, therewith to be content.

-Saint Paul

Whether you're in the United States or not, recognizing the need to be thankful is a key ingredient to not only enjoying your life more today, but also to building a better future. Thanksgiving is a reminder to us to take a moment to be grateful. However, adopting a philosophy of gratitude as a way of living transforms the ordinary to extraordinary.  

There are two ways to look at life. One is as though nothing is a miracle.

The other is as though everything is a miracle.

-Albert Einstein

You cannot hold two thoughts and feeling at the same time in your mind and heart. When you're grateful you experience positive emotions, and therefore cannot experience negative emotions of fear, anger and disappointment at the same time. Being grateful allows us to enjoy who we are and where we are today. Do we want more for tomorrow, maybe we do, and that is ok. If more is what you want, then be grateful for the opportunity to create changes in your life instead of being resentful for what you don't have today.

We can spend a whole lifetime enjoying various benefits and not appreciate their value

until we are deprived of them.

-Jami

No matter what we have, when we appreciate what we do have, what we have becomes better.  Be grateful for the day, the food, the company, shelter, the things you have today and the opportunities that tomorrow will bring. When you are not grateful you lose the joy of today and the motivation for tomorrow. The attitude of gratitude is in your hands. Life does not rob you of joy and belief, we do by how we think.

Gratefulness is the key to a happy life we hold in our hands, because when we are not grateful,

no matter how much we have we will not be happy - -

because we will always want to have something else or something more.

-Brother David Steindl-Rast

Life presents all sorts of obstacles at different times. No life is lived without difficulty. No one escapes the reality of life. The adversities don't define us and create our attitude. We define ourselves with how we react and choose to respond to life. Do hard times make us lose the joy of life and  make us resentful and bitter? If so, it's not the hard times, but our choice to be what we are that makes it so. You have choices no matter what. You can choose to appreciate what you have today and look to tomorrow with hope.

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are.

I don't believe in circumstances.

The people who get on in the world are the people who get up and

look for the circumstances they want and if they can't find them,

they make them.

-George Bernard Shaw

Don't cloud your vision with rejection of the beauty of today. The sun will rise and set with brilliance and magnificence. Wonderment is all around you. The miracle of life is there for you to recognize and appreciate. Open your eyes and heart and see the gifts that each day brings. Don't live your life not enjoying today because you want more or something different now. The only reality in life is what you have today. Tomorrow is for us to write and today is for us to experience. Experience appreciation in the bounty of today and whatever that bounty may be.

It seems to me that we often, almost sulkily reject the good that God offers us because,

at the moment, we expected some other good.

C.S. Lewis

Enjoy today and be thankful for what you do have. Find wonderment in the ordinary. Love those you know and share your smiles. Right now you have the power to smile and spread light in the world. You have the power in you to live each day in appreciation. Live today and see life as an opportunity to build better tomorrows. Today no matter where you are your life is yours. You have today!

That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet.

-Emily Dickinson

The priceless value of time is often lost on us. We live life as though we will always have it. If we truly understood how special each day is, we would live it in a state of not just appreciation, but awe. You should remember that each day is a gift. A gift we often take for granted. Your attitude is your decision. Decide today to develop an attitude of gratitude. Today is all we really have.

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are.

Let me learn from you, love you bless you before you depart.

Let me not pass you in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.

Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so.

One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow,

or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, ,

more than all the world, your return.

-Mary Jean Iron

The Tools staff and I would like to express our appreciation for you. We are grateful and thankful for the time we get to spend together. For your participation in the community and for the hard work you put into creating a better life for yourself and the world around you.

We wish you a wonderful week of Thanksgiving wherever you are in the world. Take time and be thankful. Together we will build better tomorrows, but let us experience the journey of today with gratitude.

We will be sending you Inspirations all week in celebration of gratitude.

In appreciation we bow our heads to you...

Devlyn Steele and Staff

The Personal Freedom Revolution starts January 1^st, 2010.

Sign up begins December 2009