Day 422 - Gratitude for a Great Weekend and the Week to Come

I meant to write this yesterday, but the day got away from me. So I'm starting earlier today to get this one written, and then I hope to get back into the swing of writing daily. It's good for me.

I am no longer a "woe-is-me" person. I've realized that the best way to be happy is to be thankful. The happiness comes automatically. I wish I could get Steve to feel that way too. Most of the time, he's a happy guy, but he also harbors a lot of anger that comes out unexpectedly on occasion.

He has commented that he's met some people recently who have gone through major accidents and come out of them perennially cheerful. He says it about me too. One of his supervisors at the store, Robert, was shot while trying to chase down a shoplifter when he was working at another store down in the Bay Area. At one point, his doctors told him he may never walk again. Well, he IS walking, but with an awkward gait, but he is always chipper and smiling and delightful to talk to.

The accident I experienced had the same effect on me. Just being alive after that was enough for me to realize that I had something to be grateful for every day, waking up to a new day and all the possibility that lies ahead. I never want to feel sorry for myself again.

That doesn't mean I don't get blue sometimes. I still have mild depression that I can feel coming on about two hours before it really hits. My eyes burn and my chest feels heavy, and I think, "Oh, no you don't!" Those are the times when gratitude is ultra-important. I will spend a few minutes thinking of all those things that I'm grateful for, and when the sadness comes, I don't feel as awful as I used to feel.

Spend 5 minutes every day being grateful for what you have. It may not be as much as you want, but it's as much as you need. See if it doesn't bring you happiness, as it has for me.

Keep Sparking.