I’ve seen the following quote floating around the internet lately, though it doesn’t appear to be credited to any one person or organization. “This is not the year to get everything we want, but instead the year to be grateful for all that we have.”
Sentiments about gratefulness seem to run rampant around this time of year, beginning with carving the Thanksgiving turkey and concluding with a ritualistic toast on December 31.
If there ever was an occasion in history to acknowledge that this is not the year to get everything we want, 2020 would certainly be fitting.
Everyone from school children who’ve been unable to celebrate birthday parties with classmates, to couples whose nuptials are far from the fairy tale they dreamed of, to senior citizens who’ve become even more isolated and alone in an effort to keep them safe. Everyone can certainly agree that this is not the year to get everything we want.
But it DEFINETELY is the year to be grateful for all that we have.
While scrolling through some daily inspirational quotes the other day, I came across this Anonymous contribution which truly struck me.
It said that, “Happiness comes a lot easier when you stop complaining about your problems and you start being grateful for all the problems you don’t have.”
Powerful words which get right to the heart of the matter. We rarely find gratitude in the problems we DON’T have.
Yes, this is not the year to get everything we want. But pick up a pen a paper, turn off all the distractions around you (maybe right before you go to bed) and start listing all the things you should be grateful for starting with number one. Then ask your friends and family to do the same.
You’ll be surprised just how many things you’ll come up with – simple, ordinary blessings which remind us to be grateful for the problems we don’t have.
