Gratitude

“You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.” — G. K. Chesterton

Gratitude is a valuable tool, I say tool because I honestly think that being grateful for what you have creates happiness. I also think good thoughts, lead to good things or at least the ability to see good in most things. Life can be daunting. There are always going to be moments when we want to throw in the towel and cry MERCY! The ups and downs can test a person and their faith.

Their faith in themselves, in the people around them and their source of spirit (whether that be God or some other deity). And yet if you choose to focus on gratitude, on what is the light in the dark, I have found things are often far less painful, less scary and sad than my initial reaction.

This being November and the month of Thankfulness, it seemed an appropriate topic but really I am writing this as a reminder to myself that there is always something to be happy about, something to be grateful for and the reality is that it takes just as much energy to be happy as it does to be unhappy. So, why not choose the one that feels better and doesn’t make my mascara run?!

And these are for the simple little everyday moments, like when you’re late to work and of course hit every red light along the way. Or when you finally do get to work and your boss makes you wish you had gotten into a fender bender, just so you could have missed her morning attitude all together (true story). In these moments, I try to remember how great my kid is, how much my family loves me, and that everything is temporary. Every annoyance, every painful moment only lasts until the next good one stops by. Gratitude for being alive, for love, and for all the rest that comes along! Ok, so this part of the blog is totally selfish, because this week I seriously need a 🙂 Happy Moment to focus on, BUT the next is totally unselfish and just as heartfelt.

This week with the horrendous happenings on the East Coast I also thought gratitude was important. I am safely rooted in the West Coast where my son reminds me, often, that at least we only have earthquakes in California. But for the people who have been affected by the storm in small and traumatic ways, I thought it would be nice to mention that the Red Cross. So, instead of a link to my current release I offer you a link to the Red Cross Organization. And for those of us who are lucky enough to be away from the storms, if you can offer a donation or want to see what else you can do to help out, please check out their website at http://www.redcross.org/.    

“VOLUNTEER FOR VICTORY” – NARA – 515986 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As we sit in gratitude each day for the life we have, on the perfect days and those days when we are given the chance to learn about hope, patience and perseverance, remember that HOPE is one of the best four letter words around. May the people who need a little on the East Coast find it and many other reasons to be grateful during this trying time.

Thank you as always for stopping in to the Authors of Main Street today, Happy MONTH of Thanks! Be well and blessed!

Kelly Rae