It’s easy to do when life is good and all is sunshine, right? But what about on those days when things aren’t working out – when you wish you never got out of bed that morning? It’s much harder to do, – – but still, I think we all have a choice.
The choice is this: to be truly grateful for the events that unfold daily in your life, or to walk around mad and angry all the time? We can be chronic complainers, whiners and glorious pains-in-the-butts, or we can keep proper perspective of the overall big picture.
Last week I was stopped by a lovely man on a motor bike and yes, he wrote me a ticket for speeding. The officer then said my tags were expired, but there they were in my glove box. So he had me get out of my car on the freeway and stick them on my plates. I would have preferred that ticket, but I do accept my responsibilities.
I realized afterward that the Officer was just doing his job – and a good one at that. By stopping me, it was a reminder that I do have a heavy foot, and that I should’ve put the tags on right away. This may sound corny, but later that evening I wrote a “Thank You” note to the Officer for stopping me and writing me up. I even complimented the officer on how he responded politely and respectful.
There’s a lot of stuff to be mad and angry about; I understand that. If you want to see entire parts of the world that are mad and angry, just turn on the evening news. Can it all be solved by bullets and bombs? I prefer to be grateful for those things that we as Americans may unintentionally take for granted 364 days of the year. And I prefer to build rather than tear down.
“When you become grateful for small pleasures, your outlook changes and opportunities seem to open up everywhere in your life.”
P.W.