An Attitude of Gratitude

 I LOVE to read! When life seems a little too stressful or a tad overwhelming, I tend to take a nose dive into the make believe world of a book. I  guess you could say it is one of my coping mechanisms for this crazy thing called life. There is not one genre I like over another. And the books that you cannot. Put. Down. are my favorite!

 

I recently read a book about a girl who had called off her engagement ( to a famous musician..of course right?) and moved home with her parents to pay off the debt her wedding plans had accrued. After a few months of being home and miserable, her parents suggested that she start writing letters of thanks to people in her life, in hopes that it would brighten her outlook and change her attitude. As the tale went on the impact her letters of thanks had on her life was awesome! I know that this book was not a true story but for one reason or another this idea hit me like a TON of bricks and I knew that an “Attitude of Gratitude” would be my New Years Resolution for 2013….and trust me I really needed it!

 

Let’s rewind my life back to November and give you a little background on how I was feeling and why this was so profound to me.

 

On the 15th of November I brought a sweet, beautiful, little baby girl into this world and brought her home to 2 older brothers. One of which adores her and the other not so much. Not going to lie…. 3 kiddos ROCKED my world! I seriously felt like I went from 2 kids to 20 in a day. I sat on the couch like a frazzled mess and felt like I was watching a 3 ring circus going on around me. For whatever reason I also felt really alone, even though my 20 (wink, wink) children were running rampant around me.

 

Only a few weeks later the shooting in Connecticut happened and this rocked me to my core. I have a 6 year old and I could not wrap my head around why someone would do that. My heart ached at what those poor parents were going through. I felt like everywhere I turned there was news of horrible things going on in the world. And all these negative thoughts were consuming me. I felt like there simply was not any good in our world and I was heart broken that this is what my kids future looks like.

 

My husband and I had made some decision regarding his job and career, when he first graduated school. We would sacrifice a little now, in exchange for better things to come later… that was 4 years ago and not a lot has changed. Money is HARD!! It’s hard on a marriage, it’s hard on your family, it’s hard on your credit. I was feeling like there was no end in sight for all that we have been through. My poor husband felt like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders and he did….our growing family!

 

As I looked at my life I could see I had 3 beautiful, healthy, amazing kiddos. A husband who really is my better half and shows me nothing but respect and adoration.  I have some pretty awesome friends, who support, love and believe in me.  I had all of this to be grateful for but I wasn’t feeling grateful. And not feeling grateful when you know you should is a pretty terrible feeling too.

 

I am not telling you this for sympathy. I am telling you this because I think we all struggle with seeing the good in our own lives. It is too easy to focus on all the things that are hard, negative, sad, or that we feel like we deserve but are going without. I realized this was me. I had tunnel vision for the things that were wrong and not for ALL of the things that were right. So, in that moment I decided to change a few things in my life. First, I started a “Gratitude Journal” where each day I write down something I am thankful for or that is good in my life.

 

 

Oprah wasn’t lying..my perspective on my life has changed and on those days when negativity tries to take over I pick up that journal and remind myself of every little thing I have to be thankful for.

 

The next thing I did was started to write letters of “thanks”. Even the smallest act of kindness on my behalf I would write a letter of thanks. I realized that silent gratitude doesn’t do good for anyone but vocalizing gratitude opens the doors and magnifies all the things that we have to be grateful for. As I would sit and write these letters I quickly realized how much of the world is still kind and caring.

 

The last thing I implemented was having an attitude of kindness. I decided that no act of kindness to others goes with out notice. Even the smallest smile at someone can change someone’s day. So, where ever I go and who ever I meet, I try to treat everyone with kindness and a smile.

 

 

These 3 things are such small tasks but the effects they had on me, on my spirit was life changing. I realized that having an attitude of gratitude only increased my happiness, and for the first time in a long time I was content with my life and all that comes with it. Good or Bad!!

 

The bottom line is this: When we choose to be thankful and kind the effects it has on our OWN spirit,  our own happiness, by far out weighs the effects it may have on the receiving end. So, in 2013 let’s strive to be grateful in the things we have, give thanks for the kind deeds of others and show kindness to all those we meet and watch ourselves really come alive because of it!!

 

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.  ~Thornton Wilder

 

Kallie is the Creator and Editor of Smitten By.

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