focus.
A Grateful Heart
Having one is easier said than done.
Well, at least for me.
Believe me, I want to be grateful. Count my blessings. Be appreciative. I want to live with that kind of earnest intention.
It's just that it's such a slippery slope to ungratefulness. All it takes is a dose of challenging circumstances. For me, sometimes just one.
Call me shallow. Or weak. Or lacking in faith.
It's such an easy slide. The path is well worn. The tracks are in place and my heels drag all manner of mud and slop behind me. I don't even have the sense to grab at a small bush to slow me down.
So smooth. So easy. So familiar.
Focusing on the lack. The not enough. The unfairness.
A scarcity mentality or battling comparison or an overwhelming weariness.
Either way it's just the downright badness of everything.
Well, yes actually life is bad sometimes.
And it's hard sometimes.
And it's difficult.
I'm not saying, we shouldn't talk about it or vent or get advice or counseling. It's just not a good place to plop down for long because it's very easy to get stuck there.
This. I. Know. To. Be. True.
Oddly having a grateful heart really does turn things around by changing your perspective. It makes what you lack, enough. Helps the pain have less sting. It chases the darkness.
A grateful heart tells me there is enough.
A grateful heart tells me I have enough.
A grateful heart tells me I am enough.
And it's all because the focus is moved from inward to outward.
How can something so simple be so hard?
Today I'll turn my gaze outward.
But first, I need to start climbing up and believe me, I plan to grab the first sturdy bush of gratitude I can find.
“Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.”