Why is it so easy to get sucked into the vacuum of ungratefulness when far more often than not the good far outweighs the bad in life? How unbelievably incredible is it that this mass of molecules sitting here writing this came together in the perfect way needed to make this body I inhabit? This body that allows me to do so many things!
And how remarkable is it that every experience I have had, both good and bad, happened in the right time and the right order to make the me I am right here right now? Everything that has ever happened to me has in some manner contributed to shaping the passionate, creative, intelligent, compassionate, loyal, honest, hard working (the list goes on) person that I am.
If you love yourself as I do, and you should being that you are the only you there will ever be, and you have made the majority of the decisions that made you who you are, you have everything in the entire history of the cosmos to be grateful for!
So why then, if there is no one else in the history of the universe I would rather be, and so many incredible things made me who I am, do I sometimes look in the mirror and go blah? Why do I beat myself up when someone else’s opinion makes me feel less than? Why do I judge myself by other’s standards? All of these things make me feel less than grateful for the miracle that I am. So in this week of National Thanksgiving I send a reminder to myself and anyone else that finds themselves struggling to be grateful the other 364 days of the year. Remember, every moment of life is something to be grateful for. Every second, of every minute, of every hour of every day! We should even be grateful for the tough times, because those are the times that shape us the most. That said below are my top three things I am thankful for this year at this moment in the life of the universe!
FOR THESE THINGS AND MANY MORE I AM GRATEFUL
So, first and foremost I am grateful for me. I am proud of the person I have become and for the most part am able to live a life without regrets. I stay true to who I am and what I believe in. Could I use a little more confidence, absolutely, but life is getting me there. I am thankful that I live in a place full of natural beauty and am able to spend as much time outdoors as possible, and best of all I get to share the outdoors with my husband and fur kids, cause they love it too. Over the last couple years I have been able to loose weight and become more active. As I got older I realized that to continue doing the things I loved and to strengthen my body to fight the things old age will inevitably bring that I needed to do this. Not because of a picture in a magazine, some false ideal. I needed to do it for me! 85 pounds and counting 🙂
Next in line, no, it isn’t my wonderful fur kids, although they come up pretty close behind. Nope, next is my incredible, patient, kind, caring, intelligent husband. So glad he waited for me! I am sure there were plenty of acceptable and far less opinionated women that came along in the 48 years before me. Luckily no one else was able to talk him into the ole’ ball and chain. He has brought so many wonderful things into my life. He shares my passion of the great out doors. He introduced me to the incredible world of bird dogs. And he lets me get away with dragging him all over the place on random adventures. Clearly a match made in heaven. Do we have our ups and downs? Of course we do, if we were too much alike we wouldn’t work as a couple. Instead we spice things up with a few differences. Perfect!
Yes! The moment you’ve all been waiting for 😉 Next come all the fur kids past and present. Dogs have so much to teach us about unconditional love and staying present in the moment. Lessons I am thankful for every minute of the day! I would not be the person I am today without the joyful things my fur kids have taught me. My gratitude to them is endless! Their love brightens the tough days, they encourage me to get off my butt when I am feeling lazy and to get out of bed when I am feeling sad. They have never disappointed me, but keep me on my toes so that I don’t disappoint them. I can’t wait to walk in the door after a long day and work and get attacked with puppy kisses and love! Even though they are third on the list, they are the keepers of the most gracious gift on this planet, and on any other life inhabiting planet floating around out there. Unconditional love. Thank you babies for showing the way. Hopefully someday we humans can learn to live up to the incredible standards you set for us. Thank you!
