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Today's
quotation:
When
you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning
light,
for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food
and
the joy
of living. If you see no reason for giving
thanks, the fault
lies in yourself.
Tecumseh
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Today's
Meditation:
I've
found this to be very good advice. There have been
days, of course, when I've woken up in bad moods and I
haven't felt the gratitude that I could have felt, but when
I feel grateful for the life I have and the food I eat and
the people I know, I feel richer as a human being, for I
know that I'm truly blessed and that feeling of being
blessed is a real part of my life, not just something that I
talk about as an abstract idea.
We
all have the choice of feeling and showing gratitude or
not. We all have the choice of recognizing our
blessings and appreciating them, or not appreciating them
because we're hoping or wishing for something different,
something more. When we do spend our time wishing for
things we don't have, life becomes a different--and usually
very negative-- experience. When we decide to focus on
gratitude and the thankfulness that we have for all of the
good things in our lives, then that attitude of ours helps
to paint our days brightly and cheerfully, and we live
surrounded by blessings constantly rather than wishing we
were somewhere else or had more.
Is
it possible to condition ourselves to express our gratitude
each morning when we wake up? Perhaps we could leave a
note, or a series of notes, reminding ourselves to make
gratitude a high priority. Perhaps we could program a
message to come over our phones or in our emails to remind
us of the importance of feeling gratitude on this particular
day. If we don't do so, then we most certainly can't
blame any of our feelings or thoughts that rob us of
happiness on anyone else--it will be our choice, and only
our choice.
My
choice today is to be grateful for the life that I have, and
the opportunities that I have to experience the beautiful,
the not-so-beautiful, and even the ugly so that I can learn
more about what it means to be human and to live and to
love. And I want to be thankful because my gratitude
can help me to live more deeply and fully.
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