Gratitude

When we think about gratitude we most often think about the "good" things to be grateful for; my family, the sunny day, my home, the food in the pantry, etc. These are all wonderful things to be grateful for.

But what would happen if we were grateful for those so-called "bad" things that happen? 

I am sure that you can think of a time in your life when something happened that wasn't at all what you expected or what you wanted to have happen.  It occurred to you as "bad". 

Yet, what happened in the end? Did it lead you down a path that wouldn't have been taken if that "bad" thing hadn't occured?

For me, one example was a car accident that I was in which left me with a herniated disk in my back. I was a senior in high school and I was in pain all the time.  No modality seemed to be able to help me, until I found acupuncture. And guess what?  This is how I got to be an acupuncturist. This "bad" thing, led me to my career.

So next time a "bad" thing occurs, pause and think that maybe it is just your navigation system re-routing.

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.”  ― Melody Beattie