As all of you know, this week is thanksgiving. Every year, I find more and more things to be grateful for. This year, I firmly believe that gratefulness is a skill that can be practiced. We can all choose to see the good and the blessings in every moment; I mean, just the fact that you’re still breathing is cause to be grateful.
One thing that has helped me realize this is learning more about people who are less privileged than I am. Learning about charities and stories that are old and new. Nothing makes you realize how amazing your life is then realizing how much worse it could be. I mean, how privileged are we that our problems aren’t survival (I assume, but if that is a problem for you, I hope you can find peace and happiness anyways).
But, that’s a lesson I’ve known for a while. Something I’ve learned more recently is that gratefulness is the pathway to calmness. Every time I find myself stressing I can remember everything I have to be grateful for and use that to calm myself down.
So, the next time you feel stressed or upset about something, remember that you have so much to be grateful for. If you don’t think you have a lot to be grateful for, remember that even the bad days are a gift. Every bad day helps you learn to appreciate the good days. But, I know that’s easier said than done. There have certainly been days of my life where that would be the last thing I wanted to hear, but I would implore myself to hear it anyway because you can’t be happy if you don’t choose to be. One way to choose happiness is to choose to be grateful for anything you can.
Until next time,
Ella Greene
