Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…. It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. – Melodie Beattie
Lately, I feel there has been an onslaught of negativity swirling around me. It seems to be the cool thing to complain. It is so much easier to be a victim and to point out the problems in life than to be someone who is trying to create solutions.
I tend to be pretty solution-focused in my life. Some of that has to do with my profession, and some of that has to do with my life experience. One way I know that helps me stay positive is to be truly grateful. I choose to be grateful for the unexpected and ordinary, miraculous things in my life. Here is just one example:
One day in Middle School I was having a particularly bad allergy day, and my eyes were itchy, red, and puffy. I went into the girls’ bathroom to put some cold water on my eyes. I remember I was feeling awful and just wishing, like I had a million times before, that I didn’t have to suffer with stupid allergies.
As I was standing at the mirror, checking out my red puffy eyes, I noticed a girl crying over the sink. I asked her if she was okay and if there was anything I could do. She started laughing while crying. She told me there was nothing I could do. She looked over at me and told me her eyelashes had just fallen out. I was a little shocked—this isn’t something you hear every day!
She went on to explain to me that she suffers from an autoimmune deficiency called Alopecia Areata (AA). AA is characterized by areas of hair loss. She explained that she has severe AA and, as a result, every year she loses all her hair, wears a wig, and her eyelashes fall out. She was in the bathroom because she was trying to apply Vaseline to her eyelids.
Usually a person’s eyelashes protect their eyes from dirt and debris, but since she no longer has eyelashes, the Vaseline is sort of a back-up option. I complimented her wig, said goodbye, and was forever changed! Suddenly my red, puffy, itchy, eyes didn’t seem so bad. At least I had eyelashes.
I wonder how often we think about our amazing bodies, the housing we have, the fact that water is readily available to us, and so many more things we take for granted in our lives. When was the last time you thanked the Creator for your eyelashes? What about for your toenails, your opposable thumbs, or your teeth?
When we start to recognize all the things we have to be grateful for in our lives, we can’t help but be happy. The moment we begin to count our blessings, everything becomes a bonus instead of an expectation.
So what are you grateful for today?