Bitter-sweet Gratitude

As I write my gratitude list tonight, it’s almost bitter-sweet. I do indeed have so much to be grateful for – I have a family that loves me, food to eat, a house that is warm and cosy. Now that I think about it, I have nearly everything I could possibly want or need.
I’ve just had a cup of tea with my 86-year old neighbor that lives on her own who inspires me.
I have watched the video of Nick Vujicic – no arms, no legs. He turned a life without limbs into a life without limits. It made me feel incredibly fortunate for such a ‘normal’ existence. With a whole family of fully-limbed people, what do we have to complain about?

We heard about friends in my hometown whose house burnt down in the night. Fortunately everyone got out in time. It was a beautiful old home. Imagine going through that, seeing everything going up in flames – all your important documents, favourite furniture, photographs of weddings and births. Losing some things that can never be replaced.
An American friend told me he’d filed for bankruptcy today. I’m at a loss for words.

What am I grateful for? So much. Why do I feel a disquiet as I ponder all this, I ask myself?
Is it because it sounds like I’m gloating when I think of all the events of the day? I’m certainly not! Why do I have my house to sleep in tonight, when someone else does not?
I’m feeling an intense gratitude – even luck – that we are in such a good position. One just never knows when disaster strikes and you lose it all.
There is a fine line between bragging about your good fortune, and writing about it in your journal. In your gratitude journal, you are free to celebrate anything, without worrying about how it’s going to sound, or look, to someone who doesn’t have everything that you do.
Choosing not to be grateful for what you have doesn’t bring anything to those who don’t have. Focusing on what you do have makes you realize how fortunate you really are. Then you can look for ways that you can make a difference to those less fortunate.

Here’s the thing: When you focus on being grateful, you realize how much you have. When you’re not making a conscious effort to be grateful, you see only what you lack. For everything that you have, there are others around you that don’t have this. For everything that you lack, there are people who have them, but don’t feel grateful for them. I’ve heard many people come through my workshops saying that they are grateful, they count their blessings every day – but it’s only when they write them down daily that they truly feel grateful with every ounce of their being.

Wanting more things, more possessions – when you get them, it doesn’t make you feel any more satisfied once the novelty wears off. A new Iphone 4 is soon replaced by Iphone 4S and then Iphone 5.  The iPad gets updated every few months.
No sooner do you get a new car and it becomes a second hand car! The more you drive it, the older it gets. There will always be a newer model being released – it’s just a matter of time.

Gratitude is the emotion that fills us up, makes us feel happier with life.

When you’re facing a challenge in business, you want to step up and play a bigger game, you need to have a positive mindset. Your entire being needs to be geared up so you can take the actions you need to take to get where you want to go. Being grateful gets you into this state. You start to see things as opportunities rather than as disasters. It’s easier to focus on the most important things, and leave the little things that keep you busy but not productive. You can choose whether you want to have busy-ness, or be in business.

Get your own Attitude of Gratitude Journalto write in by visiting http://www.jillhutchison.com/gratitude-journal/

What are your thoughts?

Jill Hutchison
Perth, Australia

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