Last updated on July 1st, 2022 at 03:21 pm
There are blessings in your life at this moment that can reveal just how abundant your life already is. Think about it. I bet if you look around right now, there is something you see that at one time felt like a miracle when you achieved it. We just tend to forget the wonder of the positive changes that happened over the course of our lives.
So many things, like breathing, that we take for granted.
There was a time I thought I would not be able to have children. My ex-husband and I tried for almost 5 years. The doctor told us to go away on vacation and consider a marriage that might be childless unless we planned to adopt. She told us to look at our lives and be grateful for what we had. We packed our tent trailer and embarked on a three-week vacation to the great Northwest.
It was a wonderful vacation, one I still have fond memories of. I was able to show my ex-husband parts of the United States that he had never been to and that I had visited when I was a child. I remember the pure bliss of fishing on a river south of Jackson Hole Wyoming, looking up at the mighty Tetons feeling so grateful for the beauty before me.
One month after this vacation, I found out I was pregnant with our son Brian.
Brian is by far, the best thing that has ever happened to me. I will never forget the moment I found out or the moment I found out I was having a boy. It was an unbelievable dream come true. I wanted nothing more in my life. It was my biggest dream, well, he still is really.
Sometimes when I forget how blessed life can be, the times when it seems to be pinching me, I turn and look at my son and remember how desperately I wanted him in my life, and there he is *POOF* that dream-come-true.
And I pause and take it all in and say a silent prayer of gratitude. I am so lucky.
It was Willie Nelson who said,
When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.
The use of gratitude for improvement in your life can be an enjoyable process. It can change everything. First, it shifts your focus away from what is not working to what is working, second, it changes your outlook, and third, it brings you into the present moment.
Keeping a daily gratitude list can make you aware of just how abundant your life is right here, right now. Think about the clothes you wear, the shoes on your feet, the bed you sleep upon, your friends, your family, and the water that flows freely from your kitchen sink. There’s your refrigerator, an indoor bathroom, and the health of those you love. There’s the eyes you have with to read this, your fingers, your toes, your smile, and your hearing.
My Thanksgiving gratitude challenge
I invite you this Thanksgiving to make a list of all the things you are grateful for. You will be amazed at how long the list can get. Be grateful for your eyes, the night sky, the snow, your friends – whatever you see this Thanksgiving season. Fold it and place it in a special book on your book shelf and whenever you feel like life is kicking your butt, go pull it out, and add at least one more item to that list.
Next year, get it out and read it to your family. I promise your life will be completely transformed.
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Catherine Hughes is an accomplished magazine columnist, content creator, and published writer with a background as an award-winning mom blogger. She partners with companies to create captivating web content and social media stories and writes compelling human interest pieces for both small and large print publications. Her writing, which celebrates the resilience and achievements of Northern California’s residents, is featured in several magazines. Beyond her professional life, Catherine is passionate about motherhood, her son, close friendships, rugby, and her love for animals.
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