« Goals based on values | Main | Multi-tasking »
Gratitude
Gratitude is one of the keys to my own personal development.
I have to confess that it has not always been so. Over twenty years ago I went to my first AA meeting in Seattle and the topic for the day was gratitude. I recall one man who actually had been sleeping under a bridge and he said he was grateful that he was allowed to sleep on someone else's couch. I simply failed to grasp the concept.
One day someone suggested to me that I make a gratitude list - simply write down all the things I was grateful for. That was pretty easy for me. All I could think of was that I had warm water for my morning shower. I was a slow learner.
Today I practically live on gratitude.
I don't have a written gratitude list today because it would take the rest of my life to finish it. It would start with: Being alive, a loving family, a warm bed and a roof over my head, an income, trees that change their colors, birds that sing to me, the moon always changing, sunshine, rain, being able to see, books, grass, flowers. It's truly endless.
I'm a bit selfish. Gratitude makes me feel good. I'm grateful that I'm grateful.
I can be grateful for the store clerk who takes my money, and for the sheriff deputy in Skagit County Washington who stopped me for speeding. Or I can be resentful and angry. I choose to be grateful. To repeat: It makes me feel good.
The positive energy from being grateful makes me happy, makes me feel connected to all people and all things. It gives me a more cheerful outlook. I work better, play better, sleep better.
How about you?
- What are you grateful for?
- As you walk through your day, pay attention and see if you can add a few things to your gratitude list.
- Does that make you feel better?
Ross Runkel, Post Office Box 1031, Salem, Oregon
97308-1031.
Phone 503-399-8028. Fax 503-566-8844. email Ross@LawMemo.Com
