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Health & Fitness

A Little Kindness Begins With Gratitude

Feeling a bit grumpy? Giving thanks for the littlest things will make life good again!

“Can you see the holiness in those things you take for granted – a paved road or a washing machine? If you concentrate on finding what is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul”. - Rabbi Harold Kushner

   This quote recently popped up on my daily email from gratefulness.org.  It really grabbed me, because like so many people, I too often focus on what has gone wrong and fail to notice all the wonderful, ordinary blessings.  Like washing machines.  A few minutes of thinking about life without washing machines, not even the ones at a laundromat, is enough to fill up my cup of gratitude!

   It is important to notice and give thanks for smallest things in life, even if we think God had nothing to do with them.  The very act of being grateful opens our eyes to bushels of blessings that can outweigh even the largest burdens.  When we look at what we have rather than at what our neighbor has, there is no end of things and people and moments for which to be thankful.  Saying thanks for those blessings transforms our laundry list of complaints into a litany of praise that puts a song in our heart.

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   Give thanks for that cup of coffee or diet coke, for the shoes on your feet and the person who smiled at you today.  You may not be transformed instantly, but when we give thanks day by day our whole outlook on life changes.  We see more and more good and become a blessing to others in the process.  All the good we begin to see is too much to fit into our internal storage so we automatically begin to share it with others. 

   Tomorrow, pay attention to every convenience, every small satisfaction, everything that is better than it might be.  Is there a chair to sit on?  Give thanks!  Do you have some food for lunch?  Give thanks!  Can you see to read this article?  Give thanks!  Do you have a place to spend the night?  Give thanks!  Were you able to brighten someone’s day?  Give thanks!

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   We become kinder, more gentle people when we pause to give thanks.  The world become a kinder, more gentle place when we pause to give thanks.  Give thanks all day every day and you will be amazed how good life is!

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