Gratitude...

The simple act of being grateful for something can make us feel so much better about ourselves and our lives.
It can also make the transition from negative thinking to positive thinking much easier.
If you come across a difficult person or situation, being thankful for something can make it a lot easier to deal with. You could even just be thankful that you aren’t exposed to those people or situations very often. The smallest thing can make it look and feel so much better.

Whenever you are feeling overwhelmed, sad, stressed, afraid, or angry, just pause, take a breath, and look around you. Take a close look at your surroundings, and be grateful for everything that you see, whether it be a bed, a roof over your head, food, or even a tree or animal.
If you struggle with this, try simply being grateful that you have the eyes to see what surrounds you.

I heard a story once about a girl who was blind. She hated everything. She hated herself, other people… she hated the entire world.
There was only one person whom she did not hate. Her boyfriend. He loved her more than life itself, and would do anything for her, but when he asked her to marry him, she refused.
She said that she would marry him when she has eyes to see the world.
One day, a pair of donor eyes were given to her.
After the surgery, her boyfriend said, ‘Now that you have eyes to see the world, will you marry me?’
The girl was horrified to see that he, too, was blind. She ended their relationship straight away. He left, completely broken, and the girl never saw him again, but he did send her a note, which read:
‘I’m sorry you could not see the beauty in me that I saw in you. I hope you can see the true beauty of the world.
But, I ask of you only one thing.
Please… take care of my eyes.’

It doesn’t matter whether you have one million dollars in your bank account, or ten cents.
It makes no difference how many cars you own or how big your house is. It doesn’t even matter how much you have accomplished in life or aim to accomplish.
Because if you don’t appreciate what you have right now, if you aren’t happy with yourself or your life right at this moment, you never will be.
Because, the fact is, this moment… right now… is all we have.

True, lasting happiness does not come from external circumstances, it comes from within yourself.
Marcus Aurelius once said:
‘If you are pained by external things, it is not they that disturb you, but your own judgement of them. And it is in your power to wipe out that judgement now.’

If you can find the power within yourself to see the gift in every single moment, and enjoy life just because you are living it, it truly will not matter what happens in the external world.

When I was a child, I spent so much time worrying about what other people thought about me. My mother would always say, ‘If someone doesn’t like you; that’s their problem, not your’s.’
I took many years for me to properly understand what she meant. I was convinced that, if someone had a problem with me, there was something wrong with me. I judged myself by what other people thought of me.

If someone has a problem with who you are, there’s not much you can do about it; it’s THEIR problem.
You certainly cannot, and should not, change who are to fit in with their requirements. It’s completely their issue, and they have to take responsibility for it, and deal with it.
Besides, if they cannot find it within themselves to love and accept you for who you are, do you really want to be around them?
As long as your happy with who you are, that’s all that matters.

Once there was a young man who wasn’t rich, powerful or famous. But he was completely free from relying on external circumstances to make him happy with his life. He felt great about who he was and the life that he was living. He had one major goal that he wanted to achieve and worked towards it everyday with excitement and pleasure. He saw every moment as a wonderful new experience, and he made everything an adventure.

One of his friends was quite the opposite. He relied on many things to sustain his happiness; his religion; other people; his achievements; material things; even his weight. And he was never satisfied. All of these things could never fulfil his needs for very long before he felt miserable again. He had one major goal that he was striving to achieve. He
saw it as the ‘be all, end all’ of his life’s happiness. He convinced himself that he can only be happy once he achieved his goal.

Nothing ‘makes’ us sad or unhappy.
Nothing ‘makes’ us joyful or excited.
We do that.