Being in Gratitude when it’s Difficult

 

Sometimes I wake up and I just don’t feel good. It’s not something physical, it’s just a mood. I take a minute and think about all the things I have to be grateful for. I have a roof over my head, clothes on my back and food on my table.  I have a supportive family, a day job with health insurance, and a successful soap company. But I just wasn’t feeling it. Being in gratitude when it’s difficult is, well, difficult. 

 

I live about a mile away from a state park and decided to take a long walk. Usually I just walk around my neighborhood, but I thought today I needed something more. I needed to get out of my head and I felt the trail would help.

The first thing I thought of as I started to walk was how lucky I am to live so close to this park, and that my neighborhood is relatively safe.  I remembered when I went to Haiti, and how the women there are living in tent camps with no locks on their doors.  Because there are no doors in a tent camp. And because there are no doors and locks they still aren’t safe.

I started thinking of my dad and how much I miss him. I’m grateful he didn’t suffer very long.  My dad was always busy doing something, he wasn’t happy just sitting.  If he had been confined to a bed his spirit would have died long before his body did. When I think about it that way, I’m grateful he died when he did, even though I miss him terribly.

 

 

As I walked I could feel my mood brighten.

 

 

A mood is just a mood and will pass.  Just because I feel a certain way doesn’t mean I will feel that way forever.

 

 

I thought about how grateful I am that I can walk. Not just in the park, but everywhere. I take for granted that when I get out of bed that I can actually get out of bed and walk. And I can walk to indoor plumbing and take a hot shower. I wondered what percentage of people on the Earth can do that.

 

I don’t know if it was the physical activity or the surroundings, but by the time an hour had passed I was feeling better.  I have quite a lot to be grateful for. I’m going to keep that close to my heart.

 

What are you grateful for this week?

 

Yours in Gratitude,

Angela