Friday, March 23, 2012

An Attitude Of Gratitude

"We are shaped by our thoughts, we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves." Buddha

Whether we lose loved ones, or battle illness or poverty, crime or heartache, we have the choice of how we will respond. Even in the worst of the Nazi death camps, a small number of people found the courage to retain their compassion and their support of others, along with their self-respect. They were thankful for what little they still had and the love they could express for others.*

You and I have many wonderful things in our lives. Not only do we have loved ones and perhaps our health, we have a home and we have food on the table. We awoke today with new opportunities for personal growth and accomplishment. Tonight, when you and I sit down with others over dinner, we can appreciate their company and the food before us. We can appreciate the warmth in our homes from their love and even from a heating system that warms us from the outside chill. When our night is done, a bed awaits us, as does a bathroom near it. We should be thankful.

When we awoke this morning, if we could see, we had something millions of people wish for. If we got out of bed without help, we did what millions of people wish they could do. If we didn't spend our day in a hospital enduring a horrible medical procedure or stood outside that hospital desperately wishing we could afford that procedure, we should be thankful.

If you and I can watch a movie, listen to a song, smell the scented blooms of a flower or simply walk out the door to any place we choose, we should be thankful. For we have so very much to be thankful for.

Dick
"To learn more, please see "Man's Search for Meaning," first published in 1946 by Dr. Viktor Frankl, a psychiatrist and holocaust survivor who shares what he observed  Wikipedia describes this book but I would strongly encourage you to get a copy and read it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man's_Search_for_Meaning

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