I sometimes think there's a disconnect between recognizing things we're thankful for and actually living like we know it. We do better with this as we mature and gather life experience because the contrast becomes more obvious, but there's a mortal tendency to see what we lack.
For example, I am thankful every single day for where I live. It isn't the home of my dreams and we don't even own it, but we lived with my parents (in freakin Eagle Mountain) for almost 4 years and felt homeless the entire time. It was the hardest thing we have ever had to do (no offense mom) and taught us a profound lesson about being thankful for your a place of your own, no matter what that place may be. I'm still not sure why we had to learn that lesson, but I can tell you that it is burned on my brain and in my heart and will never be forgotten.
I want to be the type of person (and I think I'm getting closer) who lives in "
thanksgiving daily" for the life I have been given and the blessings I have received; they aren't less because they're different from everyone else.
I found this great talk by Joseph B. Wirthlin (you can read the entire thing here), and wanted to share a few of his thoughts.
"I believe that many people are unhappy because they have not learned to be grateful. Some carry the burden of bitterness and resentfulness for many years. Some pass their days as though suffering a deep sadness they cannot name. Others are unhappy because life didn’t turn out the way they thought it would.
“If only I had money,” some might say to themselves, “then I could be happy.”
“If only I were better-looking.”
“If only I were smarter.”
“If only I had a new car, a college degree, a job, a wife, hair that wasn’t so frizzy.” (Or, in my case, if only I had more hair or I were 12 inches taller.)
If we only look around us, there are a thousand reasons for us not to be happy, and it is simplicity itself to blame our unhappiness on the things we lack in life. It doesn’t take any talent at all to find them. The problem is, the more we focus on the things we don’t have, the more unhappy and more resentful we become.
Over the course of my years, I have met thousands of people. I have dined with the prosperous as well as the poverty-stricken. I have conversed with the mighty and with the meek. I have walked with the famous and the feeble. I have run with outstanding athletes and those who are not athletically inclined.
One thing I can tell you with certainty is this: You cannot predict happiness by the amount of money, fame, or power a person has. External conditions do not necessarily make a person happy. The Brethren who have had assignments in poorer countries report that despite the abject poverty, the people are very happy. The fact is that the external things so valued by the world are often the cause of a great deal of misery in the world.
Those who live in thanksgiving daily, however, are usually among the world’s happiest people. And they make others happy as well."
P.S. Lelly is carrying over last week's SPT Challenge and it's a great one that goes perfectly with gratitude and living in thanksgiving daily. You don't have to be invited to participate, just join!
"your challenge this week is to find a quiet moment. give thanks for all that you have been given, all that you have given in this past year. take advantage of a pocket of an afternoon when you can slip away and be thank-full. we can all make time for this very important date with ourselves, with only our shadow along for company."
Happy Birthday
Christina & Lelly!!
**Have you learned any lessons the hard way?
Is gratitude an effort for you?
Do you know people who live in Thanksgiving Daily?**
