Gratitude and Happiness

grat·i·tude

  [grat-i-tood, -tyood)

noun

the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful

Synonyms 

thanks, thankfulness, appreciation, gratefulness.

I'm going to keep this short and sweet. I don't know where to begin, or how to put this thought out there with any degree of eloquence. I just ask that you examine your level of gratitude, take a closer look at your life and remember to show a little more gratitude. 

Think about a typical day in your life, and you may find the average comings and goings, the daily grind if you will.

Look closer and you might see a good conversation you had, a connection with someone you care about, a moment where you looked up at the clouds and felt the glow of the sun, the 10 minutes you spent having lunch, the 2 minutes you spent thinking about something you feel passionate about, the old lady that smiled at you in the grocery store, the roof over your head, the people that love you and you love in return, the friends you call on when you've had a bad day, your kids, your husband, your wife, your best friend, your family, the food in your fridge, the clothes on your back.... the point I'm trying to make is that we have an endless list of things to be grateful for. 

Being grateful doesn't mean forgetting your worries, putting on a pair of rose colored glasses and pretending the world is a perfect place. We all know that's not true. You're still going to have a bad day, the world is still at times a scary place,you are still going to have stress and worry.It is not a contest, to see who shows more gratitude and how, it is not mandatory. Gratitude is a simple thing to express, but in hard times it is difficult thing to muster. How can you be grateful when the world and your world is crumbling around you? You can try, you can find something small to devote it to. Showing gratitude won't change your life in an instant, but it might change your perspective. When you take time out of your day to think about the things you are grateful for, you begin to see how much good is a part of your day to day, you are not merely existing, you my friend are living. 

This thought and this concept has come up in my mind time and time again over the last few months. What does gratitude mean to me? What does it mean right now? 

Gratitude means being aware of the good in my life, and expressing love and appreciation for that good, whether it is someone I care about, or a good book and a sunny day. Right now being grateful is entirely encompassed in my current living situation. Paul (my boyfriend of many years)recently moved in. 

We are living in my parents basement. While not an ideal living situation for most, especially at 28 ( I was living on my own at 23 and swore never to take a step backward)..but I am happy and I am eternally grateful. I am grateful for the roof over our heads, for the support of our families, and for the pure and simple joy of spending a little more time with my parents. 

I am grateful for the stress it has taken off Paul's shoulders. 

I am grateful that we have somewhere to live a life TOGETHER. 

At the end of all of the bad days and stress and worry, and life's hard knocks, all you really have is each other. 

You will always have the people you love, your friends, your family, the people you work with, whoever makes up your circle, they matter. 

You can live in a beautiful house with everything you have ever dreamed of, all of the money you could ever need, and you may not ever really be happy. Happiness is about the people you spend your time with, and the way you live your life, the love and awareness you have for your own well being, it is about your values and your sense of self. Happiness and gratitude go hand in hand, if you are grateful chances are you will be a little bit happier because of it.  

What does gratitude mean to you?

What are you grateful for?