The third Meiji Principle says, Just for today, I will express gratitude for everything, including things that challenge me.
Gratitude is something almost everyone practices every day. “Thanks,” we say to the clerk as she hands us our change. “Oh, thank you,” we tell the person who just complimented our new shoes. You step further into gratitude when you turn your face to the shining sun and let the warmth flow through you, or bite into a ripe peach, grateful for the sensory pleasure. It’s easy, natural, to express gratitude for these things.
But what about those challenging things, like when your boss embarrasses you in front of co-workers? When you have a boatload of things to do, and no time to do it all. When the sun has been hiding for days and you start to think that spring is just a fairy tale. Why be grateful for those things?
Challenges big and small are deserving of gratitude. Each facet of your day is just that – a part of You, and deserving of celebration. Some things we celebrate just getting through. Some things we are grateful for because they are over. Some things, the hardest things, call for our gratitude simply because of what we learn from them. No, I’m not grateful the guinea pig bit me; I am grateful I learned the lesson not to stick my fingers in cages before I tried it again with the parrot whose beak can crack walnuts!
See the world through eyes of gratitude, and see if that brings a change in attitude! (Sorry, couldn’t resist the rhyme . . .)
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