A new kind of attitude

​Life can get pretty busy, can’t it?  Life’s journey sometimes sweeps us along on a wave of activity with demands at every corner.  Many times all this activity is positive – we’re achieving and stretching and growing.  Life is enjoyable and satisfying and so full of hope you can almost smell the essence of it in the air.
 
Other times, all this activity can threaten to overwhelm us.  There’s too much to do, too many demands, too much negativity.  When life starts to take us down a not-so-scenic path it can be difficult to handle.  It gets particularly tough when that path involves many aspects of your existence all at once – like finances, job security/satisfaction, health, family and relationships.  All of a sudden small things can start to cast a much larger shadow.
 
At times like this it’s tempting to think that not only is everything wrong, but there isn’t any of that hope I mentioned earlier.  “Where has its sweet fragrance gone?” you ask yourself.  I’ve recently had a run of things that just haven’t gone my way for one reason or another.  Amongst all this I tried to sell a juicer online that we no longer need. I knew selling it might be a stretch as I faced plenty of competition – and indeed the auction expired without a successful purchaser.  The shadow this very minor setback cast seemed disproportionate for what is, after all, a pretty trivial situation.
 
At times like this I have to remind myself that what’s needed is a new kind of attitude – starting with a state of gratitude.  Gratitude might be seem like such a small thing, but sometimes we all need reminding that not everything is wrong.  No matter how bad things might be, there’s always something for which to be grateful.  Even trying to find just one thing a day is a start.
 
I hope that wherever you are in your life that things are going well.  But if you’ve strayed off the joyful path and have found yourself somewhere less than picturesque, take some time to count your blessings.  It may just lead you to a much better attitude.

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