Finding gratitude can be a life changer in regards to securing inner peace. Can you find gratitude? Let’s start by imagining for a moment. What if two potentially disastrous things happened to you in one week? What if that particular week happened to be Thanksgiving? Do you think you could find it within yourself to be thankful?
Many times, thinking about events with an “if this, then that” mindset may end with the same answer, like an algebraic or a logical given.
A New Way to Gratitude
First of all, ponder looking at these events in a new way. Is there anything good at all which occurred? Could there be even a part of these occurrences which may deviate into a positive direction?
Fortunately, my brain works differently. Sometimes the optimist in me strives to see the world in a different light. Perhaps it is the artist within who wants to color the world more attractively.
Upon self examination with one of the events I quickly saw that, at the root, it contained the seeds of something I had been desiring. It involved breaking one habit while simultaneously nurturing a more pleasant one.
In thinking of the other of the happenings, I could see it as perhaps serendipitous if I looked past the initial veneer. It was far too easy to think and question, “What if this had not happened?” Thinking of these occurrences in a new way could be life changing.
Back and Forth Bargaining
I felt the pull of this back and forth bargaining. Rather than back and forth, perhaps my journey toward gratitude could be down to up. However, I must admit, both scenarios stirred much fear, anger and angst. It would have been quite easy in a theatrical mode of expression to place my hand upon my forehead, exclaiming, “Woe is me!”
With my paint the world pretty attitude of creative thinking, I ticked off a number of gratitudes for both of these events. How much happier and healthier I felt by being thankful rather than feeling resentful.
Truly any situation we could imagine may fall into one’s life. Our perspective is the determining factor in how we may resume resilience.
Finally, have you tried to find gratitude in the midst of what may appear to be turmoil? Would it be possible to invite a new perspective into your life? Just as a mirror image is reversed, sometimes our view point could also do well with a reversal. If you only look in the mirror, perhaps your reflection may thank you!
Here is a related post: Gratitude for Hard Times. This article, https://positivepsychology.com/gratitude-appreciation/, is a wonderfully extensive resource on gratitude.
For Sure🙏