THURSDAY THOUGHTS - Attitute of Gratitude

I have long believed that an attitude of gratitude is one of the most important things we can develop to add contentment and meaning in this life. When my children were young, we lived in an affluent area (although we were not nearly as affluent as those around us were.) People thought nothing of taking the winter break from school to go skiing in Switzerland. I was absolutely amazed that families could afford to do things like this. One person asked me where we
were going to travel during the break, to which I replied,"Oh nowhere....we've all had the flu."

I decided that this was a time to teach my children about gratitude. I told them that there would always be someone who had more than they did and always someone who had less, so it was important for us to be grateful for and focus upon the things we DID HAVE. How wonderful to be able to sit down to dinner every night; to have a cozy bed with a quilt to sleep in on those cold winter nights; to have the health to enjoy the things around us; to have strong faith to see us through life's difficult stretches. Sometimes we would take turns naming things that we were thankful for...I have encouraged my grandchildren to develop this same train of thought.

We are such a blessed people and it has helped me (especially during my Cancer surgery and recovery) to count my blessings. As we progress on the journey of our lives, there are always things to be happy about or things to gripe about. One of the best habits we can develop is to focus on the positive aspects of our lives, to share them with others, and to let the rest be. I find the women at Sister Survivors to be this kind of people. Why else would they work so hard to
help the rest of us stay positive? Thanks to all of you who give so much to help all of us. You are among our greatest blessings as you continue to support us all.

Kathy Christensen
Guest Blogger