Feeling Thankful And Grateful For What You Have
76Do you feel thankful for what you have? Do you appreciate the small things that you have in your life - things that might be a luxury to millions of others? Chances are you don't!! We always expect that much more for us, that we rarely feel thankful for the things we already have. We don't appreciate it. We take them for granted. It is a given, nothing to thank for or feel good about is the usual attitude. Instead, most of us focus on what we don't have. This seems a much easier thing for people to do, and of course, you find such people all the time around you. They are always complaining about the things they don't have and which they wish they had and so on and so forth. Yet, if you really were to dissect their lives, things are not as bad as they think it to be, or what they project it to be. They are no worse off than many around them, so the problem is really in their head. They feel miserable because they choose to feel miserable. I see no reason why they need to feel the way they do. There is a better approach!!
I, for example, feel thankful each day for what I have. I must add here that I am not a wealthy person by any stretch of the imagination. Most people would equate wealth with a feeling of contentment. Don't believe in that. I live a very modest life. I don't have many of the things that others might consider a necessity. I am happy and thankful because I've seen growth in my life; it might be modest growth but growth nevertheless. When people grow, they usually forget where they came from. I am not sure whether one needs to treat this as a natural consequence. I certainly don't. If a person knows and is conscious of his/her roots, where they came from, what their situation was prior, they'd always feel thankful and feel positive about the growth they've achieved.
Much too Busy to Reflect and Feel Thankful? Change That!!
We are much too busy in our daily lives to take the time to reflect. I believe one must find time for reflection every once in a while and really analyze their lives, honestly. Doing so would open your eyes to the many things you really do have in your life. You would then appreciate what you have and be thankful for it. If you still feel your life is the most miserable one of all, look around and see how millions of people live around the world. Many have to starve and stay on empty stomachs, do you have to? Many have to sleep in the open and be exposed to the harsh winters, without any proper clothing to protect themselves, do you have to?
Our lives are not really as bad as some of us make it out to be. Start looking at your life from a different perspective and you'd realize the countless blessings you have been blessed with. Feel thankful for them. You'd be a much happier person if you do and achieve more out of life by channeling your positive energies, instead of wallowing in a sea of negative energies.
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Good on you DRN. I feel much the same way when I look around and evaluate my life. You can always look at the negatives and cry about it, but it really isn't worth it, is it?
Far better to celebrate your successes and your blessings. Thanks for dropping by and sharing your perspective!!
It is so true that we take things for granted! We should be thankful for what we have or don't have! Thanks for the great hub:)
Tim-Tim, thank you for dropping by and for your comments!!
My dearest Shil...
As always, you present us with interesting subjects to discuss about! Yes! people fail to feel grateful and then, when things they took for granted disappear,they realize what they had and strive to get them back which of course it won´t be as easy as the first time around. It´s a Life lesson to learn how to appreciate all the great things we have! Gratitude and Attitude are the keys!
Thumbs up!
warmest regards, blessings and much light,
Al
Thank you for reminding us to count our blessings! :)
Dearest Al,
You have summed it up quite wonderfully. Yes indeed, people never realize what they have until they've lost it, and by then, its too late to appreciate and feel thankful for.
Thanks for dropping by Al and sharing with us your perspective.
Always good to hear your thoughts.
Best wishes and regards.
FP,
Thank you for dropping by. You are welcome. We do forget the simpler things in life sometimes and we do need some reminders every now and then!!
Being able to spot the little blessings in life is a skill that leads to happy days! My current source for gratitude is the days getting longer and a tad warmer :) There are little flowers poking up and creating a bit of color and I'm not freezing my patootie off in the mornings anymore! I really think the little things in life are what its all about and make life more then just survival :)
Well said Kirsten. Appreciating and feeling thankful for the little things in life is indeed a skill, and a skill worth learning, if one doesn't already have it. Thanks for dropping by and for giving your perspective!!
"When people grow, they usually forget where they came from.."
So true! Like you, I try not to forget my roots. I'm always aware of my place. There have been times, however, that I needed to be reminded of my blessings. I realized this when someone gifted me a gratitude rock some time back. It suddenly dawned on me, that moment, that I have so much to be grateful for. I confess that I was in a habit of whining over the things which were lacking in my life but now I've become aware of all that I've been blessed with. Thx for one more great hub.
Your hubs are like warm, sunshine-y spots, Shil :) I've always been grateful for parents who always taught us to count our blessings - and they still live by it. They do say that the devil can never enter a grateful heart, don't they? If the devil is a symbol for negativity and all the ills it brings, then I guess there's a lot of truth there!
Thank you for a great reminder hub!
Thanks Anjali for dropping by and for sharing your perspective. Glad that you are rooted to your roots. We always tend to forget, don't we, just get carried away by our successes and accomplishments.
It happens to me sometimes too, but I always press the "reset" button in my head and come right back to where I belong, from where I started.
You never know what tomorrow brings - better always to be thankful for what you have and savor it, while it lasts, hopefully would be everlasting! Thanks again for sharing your perspective!
Shalini, those are very kind words indeed. Thank you for making my day :) You are too kind with your praise!!
Parents - how true! I will always be thankful to my parents, wonderful parents they are, for all that they've given me. Without us knowing, they give us so much. A lot of children don't appreciate it unfortunately, but I do know that a lot of who I am is because of them.
They've shaped my life immensely and for that, I'd be forever grateful to them.
Its sad sometimes that I can't convey my gratitude to them. Its even tougher when things don't work out between me and them and we get estranged, but in my heart, I know I appreciate them and I hope someday they realize that too!!
Thank you Shalini for reminding us of our parents. Yes, every child should be grateful to their parents (of course, I am not counting parents here, who have no regard for their kids, who've abused their children, etc.)
Very wise words indeed.
Amber
I don't often get reminded to count my blessings, but when I do, I sit and seriously think, my life is not so bad, it could be so much worse. We, in my house, have a roof over our head, food, clean water, and clothes, some people don't have any of those things.
Thanks CAC for dropping by and for your comments. I couldn't agree more with you, exactly why we should be thankful for what we have!!
Great hub! I remember long ago always being dissatisfied and complaining to a friend about my life. Than one day she said " you have come so far, stop dwelling on the negative and put some grattitude in your attitude." That has stood with me and has made a difference in my life. Thank you for an awesome read!
Madison
Thank you Madison for stopping by this hub and for sharing your story.
I can relate to what you state. I used to be dissatisfied with my life too, when I was younger. Things changed for me too, for the better, when I started looking at the positive aspects of life - rather than brooding over the negatives.
Thanks again Madison for your kind words!!
Wow. This phrase is a crystal clear message that impressed me.
"You'd be a much happier person if you do and achieve more out of life by channeling your positive energies, instead of wallowing in a sea of negative energies."
Thanks for writing this!
Thank you VS for stopping by this hub and for your words of appreciation. Yes, that's the thought process by which I live now and one which I am forever telling others to live by.
It makes things so much easier. People just waste away their lives (which can be unpredictable and short) by focusing on the negatives in their lives. What a waste! Why not feel thankful for what you have and feel good about yourself for a change.
Thank you, again, VS for stopping by and for your comments. It was a pleasure writing this hub :)
all though this is against the human nature and true to some extent that one should never be satisfied if he has to reach to greater heights,but thats in other references perhaps,and the day one feels satisfied for what he has, he becomes a saint,well almost!
Thank you suny51 for stopping by this hub and for your comments - appreciate it :)
I love this hub, Shil :) It's so very true, we really need to appreciate all that we have. Bravo! :)
Thank you Mary for stopping by this hub. I am glad you liked it :)
It's difficult to count blessings when nothing is real. How would you distinguish between a blessing and a lie?
Thank you, "U," again for stopping by and commenting. Yes, one can question what is real and what is not. For example, is the world we live in real to you? Who is to say that the world we live in isn't an illusion?
To me, a blessing is something that you can distinguish for yourself as a blessing!!
You reminded me of a saying my mother had; God needs your gratitude, not your attitude. Hadn't thought of that in years, thanks
Dave, am glad this hub reminded you of your mom's saying - a very nice one indeed!! Thanks for stopping by and commenting!!
Shil,
Great hub and yes we are all blessed in many ways. An exercise i was just introduced to has truly helped my gratitude expand with what I already have in my life.
At the end of each day, take 3 minutes and write what your were grateful for about that day, and soon you will see just how many things in our lives we have to be truly grateful for.
Thanks again :) Best wishes
Thank you, Dean, for stopping by and commenting. Thanks also for sharing that wonderful exercise - a great way to recognize things to be grateful for! Best regards :)
DiamondRN 2 years ago
Although not as often as I should, I look around at my wife, my home, my family, my neighbors, my country -- too many blessings to count; my heart swells and I can't help but thank God for being so good to me.