Gratitude

Gratitude. Perhaps the most important concept we humans must learn, next to forgiveness, as we make this journey. Being thankful. For what, you say? To answer that, I am reminded of a question that I read recently. "If your life always feels difficult, what are you comparing it too?" If we constantly compare ourselves to others, then our feelings of well being may become dependent upon the people to whom we are comparing ourselves and our lifestyle. For example, if we compare ourselves to people that we perceive as wealthier or prettier, we will likely begin to feel as though we have been slighted in the beauty and abundance categories. If we compare ourselves to the homeless people we pass on our way to work, maybe we feel a bit more fortunate. Who taught so many of us to evaluate our "lot in life" by comparing ourselves to others? Madison Avenue? Our parents? Why didn't someone teach us to pay attention to the moments when we are so fully engaged in an activity that we loose track of time. Ah Ha! Time seems to be a big factor in evaluating how we feel about how happy we are. How much do we spend working for more money verses taking time to play with our children. Ever heard the statement "I wish I had more time to..." ? We all have. And, you can fill in the blanks. But, this may be a wakeup call for all of us. When you truly begin to ask yourself "what makes me happy"?, will more work and more money be in your top five? Want to get to the heart of it right away? Tonight, ask your kids what they think makes you happy. Make sure you are sitting down when they answer.