Food-for-Thought/Quote of the Week: On Being Thankful

So...

I am reading a book right now. Thank and Grow Rich by Pam Grout

I haven't gotten far, but I happen to like this author and I read whatever she writes. This happens to be a book on gratitude and thanksgiving. And those are areas where I'm hoping to experience growth. So I gather a few interesting truths from such books and move on...

I came across a most interesting quote, though. It singed my eyebrows, it did.

"When we don't stop daily to inventory all the gazillion things going right in our lives, the crazy voices in our heads try to make us their bitch." 

O_O

That is a STRONG statement.

But is it true?

I think it is.

I hear more people complaining about life than anything else these days. And I look at some of them and I think to myself...

But you have everything.

Everything. Yet they complain about everything.

No, no one has "everything". And we only see the surface parts of most people's lives, and not the visceral details. But I think we look at others and think that. And we tend to look at ourselves and think less. 


I personally think it is, this complaining, a matter of habit. If you complain all the time, then you just didn't start complaining today... It's probably deep rooted. It's probably been going on for years, decades even.

I have a family member that is a constant complainer. I recognized this when I was 8 years old. How do I remember? I remember because it was the subject matter for the the first time I ever journalled. And that was, albeit 2 sentences, what I journalled about.

I have at times, after to listening to someone complain to no end, asked a hard question.

Name 3 good things that happened today.

I have to ask my ownself that from time to time. I journal every night, and those are always good journalling points. Sometimes I will write out a small paragraph, but more times than not, I will fill up a full page or two with all the great things that happened that very day. And I am thankful for that, because when I go back and read my 30-50 pages of journal entries at the end of each month, there is just soooooooo much good that goes on in my life. So much. And it is such a blessing to record it.

That quote is so much about slowing down and examining life. And not entertaining all that negative. It always amazes me how the negative drowns out the positive. I even think it is more just our culture, just drummed into our thinking to always ponder the negative.

But I want to change that, tho.  And it reminds me of one of the parts of my personal vision statement.

"I am well developed, well matured, and well seasoned in the areas of gratitude and generosity."
I always want to be developing in that direction. Always.


I just thought that was a good quote. It definitely stopped me in my tracks.

And I will be thinking about it for awhile.