"There is always something to be grateful for." Sometimes, this serves as a good reminder. Others, it's hard to swallow. When you're struggling, when you are burdened, when you feel like you're sinking under the weight of life, when you're in constant pain and it's raining and cold and... during all those times, you may feel this is trite.
Trite, however, doesn't make it less true. There is always something to be grateful for. How you face that truth can have a profound effect. Is it a reminder to help you pick up your chin when you feel defeated? Or is it a daily acknowledgment as you take on whatever comes at you, look at the cross that you carry and corageously pick it up?
The reality of life is that, on any given day, we all will experience some form of suffering. Broken relationships, difficult family dynamics, financial stress and difficulty, loss of job, loneliness, obstacles that seem impossible to overcome, declining health, serious illness, loss of loved ones... the list never ends, and as we grow older, it seems to get longer.
And if you pay attention, you realize that the list of all the joys we experience in this life gets just as long. We don't have one without the other.
The old expression comes to mind - are you a "glass half full or half empty" kind of person? The reality is that we do have a choice when it comes to where we keep our focus. The fact that we will experience suffering doesn't make life less worth living. The hard times can turn us cynical, bitter, and rob us of the fullness of joy we can experience when we constantly wait for the other shoe to drop.
This is what I have found: It is very difficult to be bitter, hold a grudge, walk this journey angry and defeated when I am grateful. And I can be grateful for many things - big ones and little ones, and all the ones in between.
I am grateful for another day when I can open my eyes, hug my children, kiss my husband, pet my dogs. I am grateful for another opportunity to do better - be better, be less judgmental and more compassionate, work on being more patient, try harder to understand others, find ways to lift up those around me, stay away from the negative. I am grateful for the roof over my head, the clothes on my back, the food on my table. I am grateful for my friends and family, even the ones I sometimes want to strangle. I am grateful for the incredibly bright, full rainbow that greeted me and a good portion of South Orange County in the midst of a rainy, grey morning two days ago; and I am grateful for the snow-capped mountains that said good morning as I drove to work today - a reminder that beauty can shine through and sometimes only because of less than desirable conditions.
And I am grateful for the struggles that have taught me about my own strength, shown me the path to humility, helped me grow in patience (that's a very long road, by the way). I am grateful for the low points in my life, because those are the times that have brought me the most personal growth.
I have found that being grateful is not just a choice, but a point of self awareness. And I have found that with gratefulness comes a whole lot of joy, and not the transitory type, but an internal joy that is coupled with peace. Perhaps that's because above all, I am grateful for my faith and a God that loves recklessly and is a constant presence in my life.
During this time of year when days get shorter, I hope you find that same joy and peace and keep it beyond the season. Where do you keep your focus? What are you grateful for?
