One of my friends at work sends out a daily ‘Thought of the Day’ email which I regularly enjoy receiving. Although some of them are a bit lame, a majority of the thoughts are forward-worthy. A recent one which really stood out to me was:
‘Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it’
One thing I have been dong a lot of recently is baking for others. There’s something about their genuine appreciation which makes me want to do it again and again. F orget materialistic things, gratitude is one of the single most rewarding feelings. Unfortunately, human nature is such that we find it much easier to complain than we do expressing gratitude for all our blessings. I’m speaking from personal experience so I apologize if that doesn’t apply to you. Just as much as you have the power and freedom to choose your priorities, you also have the power to choose your perspective.
Ages ago, I actually made a gratitude memo on my Blackberry whereby I wrote down (typed) everything I felt grateful for. Sadly, I haven’t added to that list in a fair few months. Considering it is already February, I’m not sure whether it’s too late to classify this as a resolution but nonetheless: I am going to make more of an effort to count my blessings. Here are some of the top of my head:
- I hate having to work every alternate Saturday…but I’m fortunate to have a job, and that too, one which I actually enjoy doing
- I hate being stuck in traffic….but I’m blessed to have the privilege of riding in a car as opposed to public transport
- I wish my sweet tooth wasn’t as dominant as it is…but boy am I glad that I have a good stash of goodies
- I detest delayed flights…but I’m blessed to be able to regularly travel to various destinations
- I sometimes hate waking up at 6.30 am to work out…but I’m fortunate that I actually enjoy exercising
- I wish I could start work at 10 rather that 9.30 am…but I’m fortunate to live only 8 minutes away
- I wish that many of my friends/family members didn’t live so far away…but I’m blessed to have great relationships which make the distance matter
- I hate when my iPod dies during a workout…but I’m fortunate that my gym plays the latest tunes
What is one thing you are grateful for?
I am grateful that even though I live in a different country to my family I am blessed to see them so regularly 🙂