DailyOM - "Grateful"

Grateful

There is always something to be grateful for, even when life is hard and times are tough.

Everyday is a blessing, and in each moment there are many things that we can be grateful for. The world opens up to us when we live in a space of gratitude. In essence, gratitude has a snowball effect. When we are appreciative and express that gratitude, the universe glows a bit brighter and showers us with even more blessings. 

There is always something to be grateful for, even when life seems hard. When times are tough, whether we are having a bad day or stuck in what may feel like an endless rut, it can be difficult to take the time to feel grateful. Yet, that is when gratitude can be most important. If we can look at our lives, during periods of challenge, and find something to be grateful for, then we can transform our realities in an instant. There are blessings to be found everywhere. When we are focusing on what is negative, our abundance can be easy to miss. Instead, choosing to find what already exists in our lives that we can appreciate can change what we see in our world. We start to notice one blessing, and then another.  

When we constantly choose to be grateful, we notice that every breath is a miracle and each smile becomes a gift. We begin to understand that difficulties are also invaluable lessons. The sun is always shining for us when we are grateful, even if it is hidden behind clouds on a rainy day.  A simple sandwich becomes a feast, and a trinket is transformed into a treasure. Living in a state of gratitude allows us to spread our abundance because that is the energy that we emanate from our beings.  Because the world reflects back to us what we embody, the additional blessings that inevitably flow our way give us even more to be grateful for. The universe wants to shower us with blessings. The more we appreciate life, the more life appreciates and bestows us with more goodness. 

I've been thinking a lot about gratitude recently. It's hard not to, I suppose, watching people elsewhere struggle to find shelter, heat, water, and food while my biggest challenge is staying on task with work. Having so much, sometimes I look right past it and fail to see how very fortunate I am.

Quite frankly, there is nothing that I need and very little that I want that I do not have right this moment. And that is such a place of privilege. It's important to never forget that. It's even more important that my privilege sparks me to action whenever possible.

Today, that means make a cash donation to help the people of Texas. There are many options available, but my personal choice is Feeding Texas. I prefer to give money to a group that has already proven themselves as worthy and committed long before these storms.

If you can, I encourage you to donate. If you cannot, I ask that you help spread the information about the importance of donations right now. And if you cannot do that, I ask that you at least refrain from jokes at the expense of these people, some of whom are literally freezing to death.