It’s easy to be grateful for your life when things are going well.
Got a raise? Thank you!
Received a gift? Thank you!
Someone opened the door for you? Thanks!
But the trick is to remain grateful for your life when things aren’t going well. To keep noticing the small wins, the moments of grace, and to keep faith in the big picture and the parts you don’t understand.
Didn’t get the raise?
Nobody remembered your birthday?
All the doors are closing?
So. Much. Harder.
They say to remember that things are happening for you… not to you.
I do that when I remember to and it does help for a moment. But in the midst of chaos and pain, sometimes that’s hard to remember.
The thing is, being grateful changes your emotional state. And when you are grateful your heart is open and you see things differently, you respond to what’s happening differently, and you can keep moving forward.
I’ve learned that I need help, that I can’t do it all on my own.
If going where I want to go in life means that some things are going to be hard, then it’s better than trying to fit square pegs in round holes. Then I’m grateful that I won’t have to keep doing that.
I’m grateful that my people are healthy and happy, there are groceries in the fridge, and that the shoes I put on my feet were a matching pair.
I’m also grateful that I have choices.
I choose gratitude.