Want to Feel better? Try Gratitude!

In these times of economic stress, fast-paced lifestyles, trying to accomplish more with less available time, we barely stop to eat with our families, let alone have time to ourselves to just think, to just 'be'.

The pressure is on to be, do and have more than ever. Just to get started about our modern lifestyle: we eat highly processed foods and sugars, drink gallons of caffeine (Statscan reported the average Canadian drinks 516 cups of coffee and 312 cups of tea yearly), are sleep-deprived, don't exercise enough or at all, spend too much time in front of the tv or computer, and not enough time outdoors. No wonder we are all exhausted and don't feel like getting out of bed in the morning.

There are so many things we can do to improve our lifestyles, if only we had the time or made it a priority. The key is to commit to making, small, easy changes over time.

One small thing we can do is to start our day, spending 60 seconds or more, thinking about what we have to be grateful for in our lives.

No matter what our challenges, there is always someone out there whose lot is worse than ours. Additionally, no matter what our situation, there is always something to be thankful for, even if it's for something simple like the sun shining outside. Recognizing these facts, on a regular basis, will increase our joy, and start our day with a positive outlook. When we start with that mindset, we are better able to cope with stress, accomplish more, and be happier then when we don't.

When I take time to meditate, or even just 3 minutes at the beginning of my day, no matter what ugly challenges I have to face, it always turns out better on the days I've stopped to count my blessings and just 'be' for a short while.

(c) Susan James, All Rights Reserved

Archive - Along with Life, Comes Problems - March 19, 2008

I recently read something written by another mom of a premature baby (" [this] was the worst moment of our lives, [our baby] was the best thing that ever happened to us") and it prompted today's offering. I feel exactly the same way: Isla's early arrival was the worst thing to ever happen to me, but she is my joy, my treasure, the best thing that ever happened to me. And the adversity that we went through, while I never want to be tested that way again, has shaped me, my perspective for the better. I no longer get in a stir over petty issues, or get impatient while driving. Gratitude for life, for the sunrise, yes - even for difficulty or challenges along the way, is my new mindset. When you are so damn glad you all made it through this ride intact so far, you cannot help but be grateful.

Viktor Frankl, survivor of the Holocaust and psychiatrist, said it best:
"The one thing you can't take away from me is the way I choose to respond to what you do to me. The last of one's freedoms is to choose one's attitude in any given circumstance."
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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,
it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,
it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness,
it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,
we had everything before us, we had nothing before us,
we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way,
- in short, the period was so far like the present period,
that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received,
for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
~ Charles Dickens, "A Tale of Two Cities"

"For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin -- real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life."
~Fr. Alfred D'Souza

If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house in on fire, then you got a problem. Everything else is inconvenience.
~ Robert Fulghum

If you're going through hell, keep going.

~Winston Churchill