Lessons in Gratitude

                                            Lessons in Gratitude

It is hard to find lessons of gratitude when times are tough like they have been the last few years, but sometimes the hard lessons are the most important. I lost my beloved aunt and sister during the pandemic, so I know that gratitude is not the first thing that comes to mind right now, but if we reflect on the last few years, we can see that we have been handed a few lessons that we can choose to ignore or accept. Let me tell you what I am grateful for at this moment because of these lessons. I hope you can nod your head and say “Me too” to at least a few, and I hope this will make you realize we still have a lot to feel grateful for in our lives.

• I am grateful for all the people who have stepped up to help those who have lost a job, are hungry, ill, or need assistance in some way. I was so proud of our country when I saw the outpouring of a response to need.
• I am grateful that Covid has made me reorganize my priorities. I was spending too much time where it didn’t matter. I now spend more time with God, and my family. I am more present for my family, and I am enjoying the now instead of worrying about what I’m going to do next.  
• I am grateful for the sense of peace I have because I choose to alter the negative, eliminate the wasted emotion of worry, and focus on the positives. We cannot always control what happens to us, but we can control how we react to it. I always find calm through nature, exercise, and music.
• I am grateful that Covid has focused our attention on health. Healthy bodies and healthy minds are the steps to a happy life. Since Covid, there have been productive discussions about health.
• I am grateful that as a nation we are looking at some tough issues. Some of the discussions are ugly, but if we can take out the emotions, maybe we can start to work together and heal some of the division.
• I am grateful we are talking about mental health at a time when our mental health is taking a beating.
• I am grateful for the doctor who I called about the continued fatigue from Covid who said, “Push yourself to the limit physically. Don’t let this thing win.
• I am grateful for the creativity and resilience the pandemic has taught me and others. Many ways of life and work had to be altered. We had to figure out plan B, and if that didn’t work, we tried something else. I am thankful for the people who took the opportunity to do something different as a way to help others while reinventing themselves.
• I am grateful for better communication both at work and at home because communication was crucial to our success. At school, I gave my students my number and I had theirs so if anyone was remote and there was a problem, they could communicate it. I also did it because I knew they were scared and I wanted them to feel connected.

Anytime we can improve ourselves and learn, we should be grateful. Gratitude is an attitude, so decide whether you are going to see your life as a burden or a blessing. I hope you choose gratitude.