Now Is My Time #43: Time For Gratitude

Today I just wanted to share two thoughts on gratitude. First I've been thinking a lot about gratitude and lack of it. I'm sure you've heard the saying that goes something like this: someone else is happy with less than what you have. There is another that says something like someone is praying for the things you take for granted.

It's amazing how much we humans can complain and take things for granted that we previously wanted. Take having a baby for example. When women who can't have children hear a woman complain about a new baby it just doesn't fly, right?

Or when people complain about how hard it is to raise children in front of someone who has lost a child...or how hard marriage is in front of a widow or widower. Even things like complaining about the cost of gas to someone who desperately just needs a car can be offensive. To someone who is dying, complaining about simply daily hardships seems preposterous.

Our lack of gratitude is one of the greatest opportunities we have to put a foot in our mouths. I don't think we mean to sound ungrateful and when it happens now and then it is easily overlooked or forgiven. But when people complain every day about how hard their life is on Facebook or Twitter for example, it turns to crowd-sourced annoyance very quickly.

No matter one's life circumstance, there is something to be grateful for in every day. The amount of time we spend focused on the good things or the bad things has a huge impact on our life energy and how other people feel around us.

So I'm thinking about how to be more grateful and spend less time being annoyed by little things that don't matter all that much really. The second thing I've been focused on it making a record of all the wonderful things that have come into my life in 2014. That is my Now Is My Time project for this week.

It's sort of like a reverse vision board. So far my list includes cool activities I've been given the chance to take part in like going sport fishing and to be given free tickets to sit on row 10 at an NFL game recently. Such fun. I've added great new connections I've made with people this year, a fantastic trip we've taken, a pair of skinny jeans that I don't hate (miracle), Disneyland trips, sweet presents that have appeared in our mailbox, and of course our new trash can.

As an update to the trash can post, every time I see that can I am thrilled that we made such a good purchase. It really is amazing how perfectly it works in a small corner of our kitchen and how much tidier the entire space looks with that tall, gleaming trash can in the place of a very messy, small looking can. Such an improvement. I highly recommend the investment!

I am keeping my list of "Good, good, good things that have come into my life" hanging near my computer so that I can continue to add to it in the days to come. It is a given that more gratitude brings more blessings -- and I would love more blessings so I am trying to be thankful for everything I have...and to complain less about the many and wonderful blessings I already have.

How do you keep yourself in the gratitude zone and as far as possible from bratty complaining? I'd love to hear your tips and tricks!