Living in Gratitude

Feeling grateful is such an empowering emotion, yet quite often it is one that doesn’t always come to mind naturally, unless we take the time to sit down and think about what we are grateful for.

When we actually do that, we can find hundreds of things to be grateful for, and suddenly our seemingly ordinary life becomes something of wonder and joy.  Often we forget to be grateful for the little things that we take for granted.

In 1999 I broke my leg quite badly – my femur snapped in half at Tae Kwon Do training and I had to have a titanium rod inserted in the bone from hip to knee with screws through my knee and at the top to hold it all in place.  I was on crutches for about four months, then hobbled around on one crutch for about another month before I was walking without help.

Whilst on those crutches I would at times, be slowly making my way through a shopping centre, enviously looking at all those people with two healthy legs.  I knew my condition was only temporary, and I made a pact then to always be grateful for having two healthy working legs, because I knew how hard it can be without them.

It’s appreciating simple things like this, that can help us to see the joy in life, to take notice of those seemingly insignificant parts of life that get caught up in the “busy-ness” and we forget how special some of those every day gifts are.

One of the things I admire about success speaker Dr John Demartini, is his dedication to an ‘attitude of gratitude’. He keeps a gratitude journal and writes in it daily – often the first thing that he thinks about upon waking, is what he is grateful for that day. He credits much of his success in life to this wonderful practice.

Reflecting on all the things that we’re grateful for, makes us smile, and lots of smiling is an essential part of any healthy lifestyle!

Leisa