be grateful

When I read about horrible things happening to people – diseases, accidents, violence, death – I find it terrible, of course, but I don’t really truly take it in. I don’t think you can, not every time, I would make you scared, worried and a little bit insane.
But when it happens closer to home – geographically close, or to a friend of a friend, that’s when it hits me. That’s when I truly realise how happy I should be that everyone I know and love is healthy and well.

And I am so grateful for that. There’s not even words to explain how grateful I am for that. It’s all that matters.

It’s hard right now…there’s so many things to feel bad about (I don’t have a job, nor a flat, I’m living of savings and merely existing), so all the more reason to try and list things that are great. No matter how bad I feel at times, there are great things in my life to be grateful for. It’s just that I have a tendency to not really notice them.

I have a wonderful boyfriend. Right now, I spend a lot of my time moody, worried, upset, self-focused…he doesn’t care. He believes in me and my abilities, and he finds me great even when I’m my most pessimistic, depressive self. And it does help. I feel a lot better when he’s around. I’m so glad I have him.

I might be unemployed, we might be unable to get somewhere of our own until I get a job. It’s stressful and I feel like a failure a lot of the time. But we have a roof over our heads, food on the table and each other. Things are not as bad as they seem. And sooner or later, I WILL get a job and we WILL get a flat. I just have to keep trying.

Me, and everyone else I know and love are healthy and well. Nothing’s more important than that. It’s important to keep that in mind.

I am very grateful that he accept me as I am. Always. Even when I’m my silliest, most emotional, constantely overreacting self. Even when I am drunk and embarrassing, upsetting, ridiculous. Even when I don’t accept myself. Whatever stuid, annoying thing I do, he just looks past that and sees the best in me. I am very grateful for that, and most of all for him. How lucky I am to have him :)

My grandmother passed away the other week. She was old, and she was ill, and it was what she wanted. She had a long, impressive life – she did, saw and learned so many things. It was time.
Still it’s very, very sad.

I’ve always been so impressed with her. She was what I aspire to be – successful in love, family and home as well as in career, studies and personal dreams. Oh how I wish I had even half of her authority, her confidence to go for what she wanted, her courage to live true to herself and her feminist views.
She was born in a time when women where expected to do little more than cook, clean and have babies. Still, she followed her own heart – studied, travelled, married ‘late’ out of love. She did all that She wanted, never the doormat or people pleaser, while still having many kids and a long, happy marriage (50+ years).
She was a matriarch; one of the strongest women I have ever met. I am very grateful I had the chance to know her and be inspired by her. I will miss her. And maybe on day, I’ll find the courage to live a little bit more like her.

Today I am grateful that…

my brother and I got to talk; it doesn’t happen that often these days and I miss him…but I am also grateful that he is out there, living life to the max and giving me a chance to be so enormously proud of him :)

my re-found love of craft work is such a great source of happiness; I feel proud of what I’ve made, I can see my work getting better/more creative and everyone I’ve given it to loves it too :)

me and the boyfriend is talking more and I’m getting much better at telling him how I feel, what I need and why I behave like I do…I’m finally making progress! And as always, he’s very loving and supportive of all that I am and do, which I’m very grateful for too. He truly is wonderful and I am more than grateful to have found someone who accepts me for all that I am…?

I will get to see my family soon (including the brother) and we will actually have a chance to spend some time together, all of us. Living this far away from where I grew up, there’s not much I miss, but I do miss them and more so the older I get, as I get a deeper understanding of how great they are. I can’t even begin to describe how grateful I am to have them in my life!

my promise to myself of focusing on the good in my life (like listing things to be grateful for) instead of wallowing in the misery of being unemployed is paying off! I feel much happier, less useless and more positive about the future…and I’m creating much less tension in my relationships

I have thought a lot about this goal and one thing that continuesly crossed my mind is how deeply grateful I am for my parents.

I am grateful that they still love eachother after 30+ years, that we get along so well (most of the time), that they never critisise my choices or push their expectations on me, that they are always there for me and that they are such lovely role models.

But more than anything, I am so very grateful that they are healthy and well. Not everyone’s parents are.

I am so very grateful that my grandmother is getting better. We’ve all been really worried but it turns out she’s made of pretty strong stuff. Of course, I already knew that…but she is old and frail after all.

I am grateful my brother is such a success – he has great news by the day it seems – now only if I were to be too…:)I am very proud of him.

I am grateful that I am starting to really wake up to the fact that my life truly is in my own hands and that I can’t count on other people making my decisions. It’s hard, but I am getting there.

I am grateful that everyone I love, including myself and grandma, is safe and well.

Found a inspirational blog entry (on http://www.lifeoptimizer.org/2008/03/05/simple-things-to-be-grateful-for-in-daily-life/) that really ties into this goal. 14 simple hings we all should be thankful for…and while we might not have all of them, having most of them is something to be truly thankful for. Not everyone does.

“1. You live in peace

If you read war time stories, you will realize how terrible the situation was. Lives were lost so easily. Pain, suffering, and poverty were everywhere. That we live in peace is a great blessing.

2. You have your loved ones

Many people lose their loved ones. Many people don’t even know their father and mother. So be grateful if you have yours.

3. You have good friends

Good, caring friends are something that not everyone has.

4. You are healthy

Sometimes we need to be sick to understand the blessing of being healthy. Have you experienced being sick? I have, and it makes me realize how good being healthy is.

5. You have enough financially

Don’t believe me? Go to Global Rich List and prove it yourself.

6. You live in hygienic environment

In the past, life expectancy was very low – it was only 20-35 years in most of the human history. The main cause was not war but unhealthy environment (coupled with poor medical technologies). Now you have far better environment to live in.

7. You live in an age of medical breakthroughs

Besides having better environment, now you have much better medical technologies. Just a simple example: you have anesthetic. Can you imagine going through surgery without anesthetic? That’s how people did it for thousands of years.

8. You have electricity

Having electricity is so simple that we forget how our life would be without it. Just take a moment to imagine it. You will perhaps lose 90% of your conveniences if that happened.

9. Your computer works properly

Have you ever experienced turning on your computer only to find that it didn’t work and the data were gone? I have, and it was frustrating.

10. You can communicate in an instant

In the past, letter took months to arrive, if at all. Now you can send an email or an instant message and get it delivered in seconds.

11. You have abundant entertainment options

Even kings in the past didn’t have a fraction of what you have now. You have television, movies, and electronic games, just to name a few.

12. You live in an age of instant knowledge transfer

You can learn anything you want instantly through the Internet. In the past people might have to travel thousands of miles to find the right libraries.

13. You can travel quickly and conveniently

Your car is more convenient than past royal transport for one simple reason: shock absorber. And you can travel around the world in hours instead of months or years like Magellan and Columbus.

14. You have good law in place

Before good law codes (like Code of Hammurabi) were introduced, anybody could do anything they wanted and there was virtually no protection of rights. Now you can feel safe and protected.”

Today I am thankful that:

The weather is lovely and I had a wonderful long walk with the dog

The people I volunteer for really appriciate what I do for them

My brother is doing so well – I am so proud of him

I feel less stressed/worried over my lack of job situation – I know it WILL be fine, eventually

And ever thankful that everyone I love is healthy and well, including myself

Today I am thankful that:

I’ll get to see my family soon, all of them – including my brother. I’ve missed him. A lot.

I am being creative and enjoying it, very happy with what I’ve made so far – and I am sure they people who’ll get my creations (the easter cards I am making at the moment) will like them too

I am about to earn some money, it’s short term, but at least it’ll allow me to survive unemployment without desperation a bit longer

I am prettier than I think I am – and sometimes I have the sense to realise that, at least with my head

Myself and everyone I love is safe and healthy and getting along well – not such a common situation these days