Are you grateful? Do you take time to appreciate what you have?
Many people spend their whole life seeing their glass half empty instead of half full. We all know people like that, don’t we? But, before I blame anyone else, let me mention myself. When I was a teenager and a young adult I spent more time complaining about what I didn’t have (or felt I didn’t have), than time being thankful for the good things I did have.
In all humility, even though I’ve always been a pretty girl, I managed to find all the little things I didn’t like about my face or body and complain about it. When I did, my mother would try to scare me by saying, “don’t offend God, or you will really have something to complain about”. Such comment from my mother would really have the desired effect and scare me enough, so I would stop – just for a while anyway, and just enough to realize that I was actually blessed with nice features and had nothing to complain about my looks.
What about you? Do you remember a time in your life when you didn’t appreciated what you had? Do you appreciated what you have today, or do you still have to work on that? Is your glass half full or half empty?
Thinking back about my own life, I feel that I really didn’t see the glass half full when I was younger. I really had things going for me, but because I was really not seeing them, those good things went away from me for a long while. My lack of appreciation attracted what I was complaining about and pushed away the good things. That’s what happens when you see your glass half empty.
Yes, this is serious stuff. Lack of gratitude and complaints will bring you things that will reflect that.
At the time, I knew nothing about the law of attraction, the subconscious mind or anything that I’ve learned in my study of the mind. With the knowledge that I have now, however, I can look back and see exactly where I went wrong and can use my own experience to guide people who may not be able to see what they are doing by not SEEING what they should be grateful for and what they should be appreciating in their life.
Why Should you Be Grateful for What you Have?
Well, the very first reason you should be grateful for what you have is because it helps you recognize and focus on the positive, versus the negative. It helps you not to take anything for granted, be overall happier in your life and attract more things that will help you maintain this happiness.
When you wake up in the morning, before you get up, start thinking about all the positive things that you have going on in your life. Are you going to get up and stand on your feet? Be thankful that you have working legs. Are you healthy enough so that you will be able to accomplish all you have to do that day? Be thankful for that. Once you’re up, are you able to head to the kitchen and have your cup of coffee, breakfast, or whatever you like to have in the morning? Be thankful for that.
Once you’re up and ready, do you have a job to go to? Do you have your own business to work? Be thankful for that. Do you have enough to eat for the day, maybe too much, even? Be thankful for that. Do you have plenty of clothes to choose from? Does everything seem to work as it should be? Be thankful for that.
My point is that you could take every little thing that you take for granted every day, and be thankful for them. There is always a reason to be thankful for. It is found even in the least suspected places.
As some of you already know, I’ve lost one of my two kitties 6 month ago. He was diagnosed with a pretty advanced form of lymphoma and I was told by the vet that he had about a month to live. I tried very hard and did my very best not to believe the doctor, and was very hopeful especially when he seemed to get better after she had remove some water from his lungs.
However, three weeks later his healthy deteriorated, and eventually he couldn’t eat, drink or even sleep anymore. Not wanting to see my kitty suffer one more minute than he had to, I called my mobile vet to put him to sleep at home. 6 months later, I am still not over the death of Tony. I loved him so much and I miss him so, so much.
So, What do I Have to be Thankful for When I Think about Tony you May Ask?
Many things! I know that he had a great life. Even a friend of mine told me that one thing I didn’t have to worry about was regrets, because I treated that cat like a king and he never had a bad day in his life. I am so thankful and happy for that. I am grateful for the joy he brought to my life and the joy I brought to his. I am grateful that he didn’t have time to suffer long at all and died peacefully in my arms. Even though I can’t even write this with dry eyes, I am truly grateful for all of that. I am also grateful for the fact that his sister, Sophie, is still with me which helps me in my grief tremendously.
From the law of attraction point of view there is all the more reasons why we should be thankful, because according to the law of attraction, the more we are grateful, the more we are attracting things to be grateful for. Anyone familiar with the law of attraction knows that we attract what we focus on and what we vibrate according to our emotions. When you focus on what you are grateful for you become happier. When you’re happier you sent out positive vibrations. Positive vibrations attract positive events in your life.
When you really get that, you start being grateful for every little things and see your glass half full and no longer half empty. Before long, your life start to change for the better.
So, your turn now. What are you grateful for? Do tell!
What a great topic. Sometimes all you need to be grateful is to be reminded to be grateful, so thank you for being the one to remind me – I am grateful for it! This is what we often jokingly refer to as a “first-world problem”. We have so much opportunity, so much at our disposal and yet we’re constantly mad about some little thing like “my computer was too slow today!” and we forget… um, we are fortunate enough to HAVE a computer!
I am so guilty of that! There is so much convenience that the littlest inconvenience turns into a huge deal. Then I have to remind myself of all the things I do have and stop whining about the things I don’t.
The problem with forgetting to be grateful is that you end up with regrets. It’s the saying “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone.” I’m so happy to hear that you appreciated your time with Tony your cat and don’t have any regrets. That’s so important because when people die (cats are people too!) we want to remember happy moments and not be miserable wishing we had done something differently. I had an aunt who always used to tell us – “Don’t send flowers to my funeral. If you want to send me flowers, send them to me now while I’m alive.” I never forget that and I use it to inform my relationships in life.
So let’s see, what am I grateful for…
Great people like you who write from the heart and remind me of things I know but always forget.
My business and clients who keep me going every day so I am not stuck in a little cubicle in someone else’s office.
My two cats who are a joy even though they keep me up half the night running around and whining for food 🙂
All of the things that get taken for granted every day because they’re just “there” – friends, family, health, good food, warm home, abundance.
And this opportunity to remember it all! What a good way to start the weekend. Thank you for this!
Hi Carol,
How nice that you’ve just wrote another post under mine 🙂 What a value you’ve just brought to the post and the whole blog by doing this.
That’s so true, in the first world we have so much that all our complains are so futile, that’s unbelievable. Yes, sometimes all we need to be grateful is to be reminded to be grateful. So true!
I had to laugh about what you said about running around all night because of your cats 🙂 I have to do that a lot myself too. That’s why one day one of my friends visiting me at my house, was observing, and said “hum, your cats trained you well’!
🙂
Thanks for coming again, Carol, and have a great week end!
Hi Sylviane,
I love this post and I love it when people talk about being grateful.
Now I’m by no means perfect and I know that there have been times in my life that I wasn’t as grateful as I am today but the majority of my life I have been.
You know my story having grown up with a father who was ill my entire life so I watched him deal with that. Knowing that every day is a gift, I remain grateful for my own health and all the things and people I have in my life. When you look at the overall scheme of things, I have so much more than a lot of people. Life doesn’t get much better than that.
So although I’ve had my moments and felt sorry for myself, my Dad always kicked me back into reality. Heck, we should be grateful we have another day on this earth,. It should always start right there.
Thanks for sharing this fabulous topic. It’s near and dear to my heart.
Enjoy your day and have a wonderful weekend Sylviane.
~Adrienne
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Hi Adrienne,
Yes, I know that from what I know about you so far, you have a grateful kind of personality. And that is a very, very good thing to have.
Like I said in my post, when I was younger I didn’t and a lot of that was due to the overall depression that bullying brought on to me. But thankfully, over time I’ve learned not to feel sorry for myself anymore.
Studying about the law of attraction and learning that even if subconsciously, we bring our own misery upon ourselves, really helped me to WAKE UP and say, wow, wow, I’ve brought this upon my own self and I have no one else to blame. This realization was a turning point in my life.
Thank you for your insights 🙂 and have a great week end Adrienne!
Sylviane, What a great post!!! I do the same thing in the morning. Before I get out of bed, I think of all the things I am grateful for. Usually they are things I never think of. It may sound silly, but so many things run through my mind besides the important ones. Things like I am grateful for my awesome fluffy blanket, I am grateful there is a warm breeze coming in from my window.
I’ve been doing this stuff for such a long time i.e. The Law Of Attraction – that it comes easy as time goes on.
I would suggest to your readers that this is one of the most important things to do. Being grateful makes you stop and think of the abundance you already have. Once you do, it opens up the floodgates for more abundance of peace and prosperity.
Things do come easier if one follows all you have said above and I wanted to reinforce that to your readers as a fellow Grateful Person!
Thank you for putting this out there for people to do.
Donna
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Hi Donna,
I do the same thing. I don’t always say thank you for the obvious things, or the big things but for the details as well. When we start doing this, it’s amazing the amount of things we can be grateful for. And as we know it’s good for you!
Loved the topic Sylvania!
I guess I could so well relate to the topic because I too have been ungrateful for things when I was young. And instead of being grateful for what I had, I would crib about things I didn’t have or others had.
I feel when we are younger, we aren’t able to understand the simple example of the glass being half full instead of half empty! This leads us to feel angry, frustrated, and always unhappy about the smallest of things that we have. We never learn to value those things at all.
But that was years ago, some of what I see in my kids now and keep making them realize that see the positive and be grateful for what you have. However, like me, I know they would learn more about it only when their age is right.
Now the tables have turned of course, and I have come to appreciate life and be grateful for the smallest of things I have. I tend to be satisfied with very little now, and even if I don’t get somethings I desire, it really doesn’t bother me much. Perhaps I am just too grateful for small mercies now. 🙂
I loved all that you shared about being thankful for the smallest of things like waking up in the morning, opening your eyes, heading towards the kitchen, and just the mere fact that you are alive and stepping into another new day!
Sad to hear all that Tony had to undergo, and seeing our pets suffer like this is another thing I can’t take as well. But I don’t think I would ever have had the heart to ask the vet to put my pet to sleep, and perhpahs would have kept trying to get things better for him. May be his condition had really become worse as you mentioned, which made you take this drastic step.
You sure brought tears to my eyes too with just the mere mention of the episode and all that you are grateful for. I am sure he would love and be there with you always, though not physically but spiritually.
Yes indeed, the law of attraction does work, and though I try explaining it to my kids, they are young yet I feel to really understand it to its depth. But I have seen it work and it does wonders always.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful post with a wonderful reminder to always be grateful, even for the smallest of things you have in your life. 🙂
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Hi Harleena,
Thanks for coming and sharing your thoughts.
About Tony, no, believe me there was nothing we could do for anymore and he was starting to suffer. As I said in the post he couldn’t eat, drink or even sleep anymore as fluid was building in his lungs.
He had spend 3 days laying under the bed trying to eat and drink once in a while and not being able to. I called the vet again, after already 3 visits in the past 3 weeks and she told me that putting him to sleep was the most human thing to do. I finally agreed.
You see, death is not always the worse thing in the world as a lot of people think, suffering is. When the vet gave him the shot that just put him to sleep (not in death) he finally slept after 3 days of not being able to, and I felt a sense of peace. Because for the firs time in days he wasn’t suffering anymore and sleeping in my arms.
You think you couldn’t have done it, but so did I. When life puts you in front of challenges, you go ahead and you do it. What’s the other option?
Thanks for your great insights, Harleena, and have a great week!
Sylviane, aloha. What a magnificent tribute to Tony this is. When he was physically present, you loved, appreciated and were grateful for him. As you felt and express those feelings you set up that vibration in the universe to attract more good to you. Now that he is no longer with you, he is still helping you to hold that vibration.
Pets are a true blessing and the best teachers ever. Sometimes we “get” the lessons from the right away while other times it takes us a bit longer. Always, they are patient, kind and loving.
Sylviane, long ago I learned that the mind cannot hold two different thoughts at the same time. When I understood that, it became much easier for me to keep my focus on what I want rather than what I don’t want.
Complaining is a habit just as choosing to be grateful is a habit. The choice you make has a huge impact on your life. Choose to be grateful and live in appreciation.
Thank you for this beautiful post. Wishing you a week filled with peace, joy and abundance in all that matters to you. Until next time, aloha. Janet
Hi Janet,
How funny that I just left your blog which I returned to few hours later to watch that video. It was great!
Boy I couldn’t read your comment with dry eyes because of what you said about Tony. I still can’t hear, talk, write or read about Tony without crying:( Gosh I loved my kitty so much. I missed him every day, but as I remember him alive I also smile and feel that he had such a great life filled with love.
Thanks you for this great reminder that we can’t have two different thoughts at once. It’s true. We should always remember this and use it to our best advantage.
Have a fantastic week, Janet and thanks for sharing such wonderful insights 🙂
We all should be grateful and thankful for all the blessing that we are receiving everyday and we should also be thankful for the gift of life. Thank you for this very inspiring post of yours.
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Hi Liane,
Thank you for coming by and for your compliments about my post. I write about what I know and from the heart. Always touching when people like and enjoy what I write.
Being grateful is essential for being happier and more productive in life.
Have a fantastic day!
Hi Sylviane,
I am so sorry you lost your beloved kitty. I know how it feels to lose a four-legged family member. It will take some time, but the pain will get easier.
As far as being grateful…I’m sure I had my moments when I was younger of not appreciating what I had or who I was. But now in my “old age” I see things in a different light. I am very grateful for my family and for my health and for all the things I have that so many people on this earth have to go without. I know I am very blessed and I thank my heavenly Father for all of it. Every once in a while I still catch myself taking certain things for granted and I feel almost guilty.
Thank you for this wonderful post, Sylviane! I really enjoyed it.
Be blessed,
Ilka
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Hi Ilka,
Thank you for coming 🙂
Yes, losing a loving 4 legged family member is tough. I my baby so much. I don’t cry as much but still think about him every day and catch myself thinking last April he was here with me. I loved him so much.
We all have our moments when we forget to be thankful because we take things for granted sometimes. That’s why posts like this one is a reminder to the reader and the writer 🙂
Have a great day!
Sylviane, your story sounds very similar to mine.. i grew up the same way!! Gratitude was hard for me because of low self esteem issues. I am so glad I stumbled across this post because it is always great to be reminded to be grateful. I am really sorry to hear about your cat!! I love animals and my dog is like my kid. Thanks for sharing your heart with us 🙂
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Hi April,
Thanks for coming here. I am glad that this post resonated with you. Yes, low self esteem is really heavy on us, especially when we are young. This is the good thing about getting older. Things tend to get better for us 🙂
I know that anyone having a pet would understand my feelings about my cat. When I read your post where you were talking about looking for your dog hysterically with your flash light 🙂 I’ve done that a few times 🙂
Have a great day!
HI Sylviane, I like keeping a gratitude journal. Every day I jot down a few things I am grateful for in my life. As the pages fill, I have a reference to look at when I’m feeling uuummmm ….”NOT so grateful! :)” I try to concentrate on the small things I am blessed with. As I drink a glass of clean drinking water from my tap, I am totally in the moment, grateful for every drop. You can be grateful for just about anything! Being grateful holds the door open for abundance to come on in!! Thanks for your post!