An Attitude of Gratitude An Attitude of Gratitude

© 2009 Chessie Roberts all rights reserved Used on chessiesEOS blogspot by permission Evolution of Self

Why should I be grateful you ask? Do you have a home; enough to eat, a way to read this blog, friends, family and everything you need to live as comfortably as possible? Then I ask why do you not feel overwhelmingly grateful? So many have little or nothing and feel that they can do nothing about it, (in some cases they are correct).
One of the things that I find appalling is the sense of entitlement that seems to permeate the youth of this era. It is seen in the young adults all the way down to children old enough to have learned better, should someone have taken the time to teach them. Where did this mind set start? As best I can figure it started with the ‘60s concept of “if it feels good do it”. Some of us grew up and learned that if one did not earn it, one did not deserve to have it and some did not.
I hear children telling their parents what they will and will not accept on their plates, for gifts; what the parents will give them now just because everyone else has one. On the other side of that I hear what the child will not do to earn the item or privilege and the parents feel they have to accept the child’s’ ultimatum. How did that happen (I have no answer here folks) I had a child tell me once after they broke one of my collectibles, “That’s OK, I didn’t want to play with that anymore, ‘sides it doesn’t matter, Mommy will just buy me another.” Never mind that it was not hers to begin with.
The solution is to change the way we think by going from the ‘what can you give me’ mind set to the ‘what can I do for someone else and what can I be thankful for today’ way of thinking. This works because when you change what you think about, what you think about changes. (You may want to read that again)
By attempting to show kindness for others a change occurs down deep inside, you have seen it demonstrated in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”. Your capacity for love of others grows to astounding levels. You find yourself being grateful for absolutely everything in your life and on the planet. You begin to smile more, help more, trust more and share more. It doesn’t stop there it radiates out from you to encompass every one you come across and spreads out from them. It could turn into a movement of global betterment!
So what if we all did this, can you see an end to hate, war, hunger, homelessness, fear, disease, corruption; and the list goes on and on, all the way to global peace? How nice will that be?
A friend of mine just introduced me to the Gratitude Project;
“Gratitude Project 2009
The Gratitude Project was begun several years ago (on livejournal) by estaratshirai. The rules are simple. Every day between Midsummer and Thanksgiving one must find something to be grateful for in life. No repeats - one can be grateful to people more than once, but it has be for different reasons.”
I challenge all you readers to try this and see what a wonderful difference it makes in your lives and those around you. I’d be willing to bet that it catches on and becomes a daily thing all year ‘round.
Bright Blessings, Chessie