Being Grateful........

Sometime ago I met a person......"X"

A Man chock-full of energy, vitality and joy !

Getting to know him, I come to realize that this man never pretend something else than what he was..... 

He was the real deal. 

In fact, I can't remember ever seeing him when he was not happy and upbeat. 

He was truly one 'carbonated-charged' guy!

Every time he answered his home phone, he picked up the receiver and said with gusto:

"This is ( his wife's name)'s happy husband!" 

And he meant it!

A while back I was thinking about this person's 'Aura of Happiness'.

I have never seen him down; hardly what you'd call 'normal'.....

What's his' secret.......? 

After much thought ..........it comes down to: 'Being Grateful'....

I never met a guy more grateful than this person. 

Period! 

....I envied him for this character trait...

You'd think anyone that grateful must have had an easy life. 

But that's not the case.... "X" started out poor. 

Dirt poor. 

His father died when he was six, leaving his mother to raise several children alone. 

The family was virtually penniless. 

Yet despite their poverty, his mother instilled a strong work ethic in her children and raised them to believe that both she and God loved them. 

She also instructed her children to practice saying "please" and "thank you." 

Those lessons stuck..... 

Her formula of work, love and faith made their difficult lives easier. 

Gratitude made their lives enjoyable.
Considerations.....
* When we neglect to require our children to say 'thank you' when someone gives them a gift or does something for them, we raise ungrateful children who are highly unlikely to be content.
* Without gratitude, happiness is rare. With gratitude, the odds for happiness go up dramatically."
* Have an attitude of gratitude.....

The more you recognize and express gratitude for the things you have, the more things you will have to express gratitude for.

Keep a Gratitude Journal : 

e.g. List your mother/father who spent time each day praying for you; Wrote down your father who deeply loves you; Maybe......your kind, funny brother/sister and his family; Your job ; the opportunity to encourage people; Friends; Laughter; For the fact to have a place to sleep that was safe; For a bathroom...... 

 As you start listing - you begin to get thankful..................! 

List about 30 things and notice that not only did you have a lot to be thankful for, but suddenly you will be.....in a terrific mood!

Something that's right outside our doors, but most of us have never taken the time to experience it...... The next time it begins to rain... lie down on your belly, nestle your chin into the grass, and get a frog's-eye view of how raindrops fall... 

The sight of hundreds of blades of grass bowing down and popping back up like piano keys strikes me as one of the merriest sights in the world..... (If you can feel joy in soggy clothes looking at wet grass, we all can find all kinds of things for which we can give thanks!)

Try it! 

Count your blessings. 

Jot them down.

At least stop and think of as many things as you can that you're thankful for right now. 

It worked for many others as well as me. 

Give it a shot !

If you want to feel happy, try on an attitude of gratitude for a change in your mood, your outlook and you.....

'Giving thanks', -brings .......JOY!

Shalom... & Maranatha !