A few nights ago I watched a program about quantum theory; afterwards, it occurred to me that with all the possibilities available in every given moment it is amazing that anything ever goes “right”—that is, according to plan—which started me thinking about gratitude. Actually, it was in-gratitude I was contemplating.
How many of us go about our days oblivious to the many miracles happening around us but are quick to notice, and curse, the tiny mishaps? Traffic problems, a flat tire, rude clerks, power outages—they all get a “Scotch blessing”. Do you do this? I know I do! I realized that I expect everything to go “right” and when something falls short I label it “bad” as in “a bad day” or “it went wrong.” The reality is…that’s just the natural order of things. Can we learn to give the same amount of attention to the good things that happen?
I don’t know about you but I am not so adept at staying in the present moment to give praise for every green light. Until I reach that point I’ve come up with a game to remind me to be grateful. Throughout my day, each time I catch myself thinking of what has gone wrong I will stop and replace that thought with all the things that have gone right. I imagine this new habit will help relieve some of my self-induced stress. Who knows…over time it may re-awaken the childlike wonder of everyday miracles.
post and picture by Robyn Chausse
How many of us go about our days oblivious to the many miracles happening around us but are quick to notice, and curse, the tiny mishaps? Traffic problems, a flat tire, rude clerks, power outages—they all get a “Scotch blessing”. Do you do this? I know I do! I realized that I expect everything to go “right” and when something falls short I label it “bad” as in “a bad day” or “it went wrong.” The reality is…that’s just the natural order of things. Can we learn to give the same amount of attention to the good things that happen?
I don’t know about you but I am not so adept at staying in the present moment to give praise for every green light. Until I reach that point I’ve come up with a game to remind me to be grateful. Throughout my day, each time I catch myself thinking of what has gone wrong I will stop and replace that thought with all the things that have gone right. I imagine this new habit will help relieve some of my self-induced stress. Who knows…over time it may re-awaken the childlike wonder of everyday miracles.
post and picture by Robyn Chausse
What makes you stop and give thanks? Share your everyday miracles here.
5 comments:
Oh, the idea of replacing something that went wrong with something that went right is one I'm going to steal. And pass on. Especially to my teenaged daughter. Right now, I'm grateful for these little reminders that we really are lucky just to wake up each day.
You wrote, "How many of us go about our days oblivious to the many miracles happening around us ...?" So true. Since getting into writing memoir, I've discovered so many blessings and good things happened in the past that I never recognized before. Memoir is about taking time to reflect, ponder, to search for deeper meanings that went right over our heads at the time. I've become a much more grateful--even joyful--person because I've discovered a few of those delightful blessings from the past, all because of memoir.
Thanks for your words and thoughts today.
Linda Thomas
Thank you Minnesota and Linda for sharing your thoughts today.
I must agree that "just waking up" is a big blessing in my life as my parents are in their eighties...I'm thankful to still be enjoying their company. In fact, I spent Wednesday baking pies with my mother--something I haven't done since I was a child--and the three of us had a day all to ourselves. Dad finally set the timeline straight for me regarding his navy days and the two of them shared memories of their grandparents.
Part of me wishes I'd had a tape recorder to turn those stories into memoir but then the unguarded moment might have lost it's sweetness.
Robyn, I know that once you start doing the "Attitude of Gratitude" as one of my students so appropriately named it, it will become second nature. I have found that the more I "live" in gratitude, the easier everything is, even those down times when everything seems to be going in the opposite direction.
Great post! Blessings, Linda
Robyn I like how you're readjusting your thoughts on gratitude. From time to time we all need a bit of readjusting. During the moments when I tend to focus on what has gone wrong, I step back and think about the reality. In reality everything has not gone awry, but maybe only one or two things. Thus, I simply tell myself that if A & B have gone wrong that C, D, & E must be right and I should be thankful. Thanks for sharing.
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