Some days, the only thing that keeps me upright is a sense of gratitude that I haven’t yet toppled over. It seems the smallest things can derail an otherwise okay day. A picture triggers a memory. A memory then triggers a tear. A tear finally triggers a frown. Well, you get the picture. A perfectly good hour can be lost to the dark side.
When VST passed, I chose focus words each month. One positive word a month that represented our relationship. In those moments life seemed too dark, I’d focus on the word of the month and ways that word represented us. Words like Friendship, Adventure, and Everlasting Love. Before long, the sadness turned to something else. Gratitude.
Gratitude for the smallest things helps me stay mindful and grounded in the abundance of wonderful events that happen every day. Just last night, my trash cans didn’t blow over in high desert winds that shook Winterpast to her timbers. What a blessing! The horses haven’t pooped in my front yard for a week. Hallalujah. My neighbor felt connected enough to call after losing a very dear friend. She is a true blessing to my heart.
Each day, there are so many things for which to be grateful, I could fill a journal. At this moment, there is the sweetest little dog laying at my feet, sleeping soundly. A little dog with which I’m lucky enough to room. As he lays sleeping, I know he’s thankful that puppy camp ended and Mom-Oh came to bring him home. A little dog can only celebrate so much before needing the safety and love of his Mom-Oh. Oliver is a very grateful little dog who smiles often, brightening my days.
When I turn on the television, which I do so rarely these day, my world starts to lose balance. Negativity flips the switch on gratitude. Fear. Confusion. Hatred. Polarity. Political insanity. It all comes flooding out of this flat screen until I start to slip into the land of pessimism. Life is too short to spend even one minute there.
Covid Fear is a great optimism extinguisher. I know of a family who spent 18 months without sharing hugs. Not one. They talked on the phone and face-timed as two-dimensional flat-screen images. No familiar smells. No feeling of the warmth of skin as one hand held another. No shared meals. No physical visits between a family that had been together every week since their beginning. All this because they were terrified of a virus they may or may not have caught no matter what they did. What a loss. What a tragedy.
Before Christmas, a friend was wondering whether or not to take her littles to see their grandparents for a holiday visit. The children wanted to see Grandma and Grandpa in the worst way. My friend wanted to see her Mom and Dad. Her family doctor gave her the best advice I’ve heard.
“Mental health is very important. You need to go and make a wonderful memory together.”
That’s just what she did. Weeks later, the happy memories of Christmas 2021 are still creating smiles. Guess what.. No Covid. Imagine that.
As gratitude for the smallest things fill hearts, others notice. There’s something different about the way a grateful person holds themselves while interacting. Other people are attracted to happiness. When you share good things, friends and family want to hear more. The more goodness you find in your life, the more goodness there is to be found. Funny how that works. Begin with health. If you have that, you’ve hit the motherload of goodness. Nothing is more precious, and good health deserves a ton of gratitude. A little sick? Be grateful you aren’t more sick. And so on. There’s always a flip side to bad and that’s the something for which we can sing praise.
Being grateful creates a more patient, compassionate, and empathetic person. It’s a way of thinking that can be learned. Just think of three things in your life for which you are grateful. Not things of your physical world. Not things you can buy at Walmart. Real things. Like a bird outside your window. Storm clouds. The sound of rain. The laughter of a child. A call from a dear friend. Those important things make life worth living. It’s a shift in the balance of thought that’ll keep you upright and moving forward, one foot at a time.
All things in life are connected. A smile is the most important kind of medicine. Spread them around and see the magic they leave in a day. Magic. Healing magic of the best kind.
Have a wonderful day. More tomorrow.