Life can be challenging. Life can include loss and sadness. Navigating the challenges of familial, romantic, platonic and other social relationships can prove emotional and difficult at times. Life can entail stress, challenges, and rapidly impending deadlines. Life can dish us the pain of failure, betrayal, jealousy, regret, anger, and heartbreak. Life can be trying and disappointing at times, sprinkled with challenging lessons we must often learn the hardest of ways.
Life also includes romance, magic and excitement. It holds wonder, adventure, awe and many moments of contentment. Life can take our breath away. We can experience moments of deep satisfaction, achievement, both feeling and giving love, joy, comfort, thrill, suspense, support, closeness, and so much more which fills us with happiness. Life, in all its awesomeness, is all of these things too.
Because, without the darkness, one couldn't marvel at the light.
So, the reason gratitude is so important is because it amplifies the light, while helping the darkness to recede.
Gratitude also helps us to recognize what is good in each of our lives, and thus, what areas we might like to alter or change certain things.
Gratitude can give you rushes of happiness that buoy you with cheer and joy throughout your daily life.
Being thankful can provide you with sweet nostalgia for the life you have already lived, and excitement for what is to come.
Gratitude can provide you with feelings of contentment, and thus, confidence, in terms of who you are and what you have in your life. It can also help to draw your attention to things you need to take less for granted, or the pay more love, sweetness, attention and respect to.
Gratitude gives your life a sense of meaning.
It shows you what you already have, and helps one with identifying what is truly important.
I am grateful for so many things, as I suspect you are too if you give it some thought and create your own life. I am grateful for:
My wonderful, supportive, loyal, inspiring and loving friends, of whom I am thankful and surprised to have quite a few (a number of whom are not pictured here because I do not have photos with them).
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| Old school photo of Lindsay and I from high school!!! She is one of my closest friends, and my very longest friendship. |
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| Another old school photo of Lindsay and I ;-) so young!!! |
Books.
All the amazing places to which I have had the opportunity to travel and adventure.
See here for a previous entry about those amazing places :-D
That I was able to attend college (an adventure in itself) and finish with a degree under my belt.
The fact that I had a breathtaking wedding day with a wonderful man.
Tea and cake. Two fantastic things.
Living in Europe (and I am still here!!). This has been a wild story, that's for sure. And I have loved every minute.
The fact that I have a job, and an income. This is pretty paramount and something I am deeply thankful for.
The adrenaline rush of downhill skiing, as well as the peacefulness of it.
My favorite foods. Eating these is always the BEST (though eating, in general, is the best).
The cool, peaceful relaxation of going swimming.
The way I feel (both in body and emotionally) after exercising.
That I am able-bodied and healthy.
Board games with others. SO much fun.
Skype and Viber. Keeping me close with the people I love.
Photographs. I love them. Taking them, looking at them, sharing them.
Picnics, the ultimate summer activity.
Roller coasters, what a STELLAR rush!!! ALWAYS awesome!
Summer time :-D Reading outside...dresses...ice cream....road trips...days seem longer...a hint of romance and possibility lingers in the air....summer is great.
The Beach.
Christmas time, and my birthday. My two favorite holidays.
Fireplaces. So cozy and comforting.
Food magazines.
Having an incredibly fun night out with close friends.
And the last one I will add to this list for now...the people who love me. And all the people I love, who add light and happiness to my life.
What are all of you feeling grateful for...??
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