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Fun & Inspiration,  Happiness,  Thinking

16 Sweet Ways to Keep an Attitude of Gratitude

I spent a long time working with the “anonymous people” – alcoholics, addicts, and those who love them. I love them. Their example is powerful. It can provide hope and help motivate meaningful change. I learned a lot and found it difficult not to embrace change.

Within that community are people I would describe as “The Grat Pack” or, perhaps more simply, gratitude ninjas. Not only do they possess the quality of thankfulness, they freely show appreciation and a willingness to share kindness.

They know that gratitude is a feeling; that it can interrupt anxiety and provide a little respite from depression. Gratitude is a gift. In my less than humble opinion, the folks I admire the most know it as a practice or a way of life.

In light of some recent difficulties I found myself working hard to focus on my gratitude. Personal struggles, health issues, tech problems, loved ones’ pain… every single bit of it could be worse. A lot worse. And that’s where it begins. As one of those gratitude ninjas used to say, “if you can’t be grateful for what you have, you can always start with being grateful for what you don’t have.”

Today I am grateful that I don’t have to stay stuck, that I learned a gratitude practice from the ninjas, and that it still works for me. And a bonus? I’m thankful that I can share with you. Here are some other thoughts on the topic.

 

An Attitude of Gratitude

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. ~ Melody Beattie  

Where we used to run from responsibility, we find ourselves accepting it with gratitude that we can successfully shoulder it. Instead of wanting to escape some perplexing problem, we experience the thrill of challenge in the opportunity it affords for another application of A.A. techniques, and we find ourselves tackling it. ~ The “Big Book,” of Alcoholics Anonymous

Gratitude for home. white and red wooden house miniature on brown table

I’m so grateful for everything you’ve ever given me; How can I explain what it means to be loved by you ~Sir Paul McCartney from Memory Almost Full

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others. ~ Cicero

She does not know what the future holds, but she is grateful for slow and steady growth.~ Morgan Harper Nichols

 

[bctt tweet=”Thank you nothingness, thank you clarity…” username=”AndreaPatten”]

Inhale love. Exhale gratitude.

 

Happiness is gratitude for the miracle which granted another go-around at a life once abandoned. ~Came to Believe

Thank you IndiaGold hands holding grateful heart
Thank you Providence,
Thank you disillusionment
Thank you nothingness
Thank you clarity
Thank you thank you silence ~ Thank U, Alanis Morrisette

Piglet noticed that even though he had a very small heart it could hold a rather large amount of gratitude.— A.A. Milne

No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.~ Alfred North Whitehead

Be thankful for what you have. Your life, no matter how bad you think it is, is someone else’s fairy tale. ~ Unknown

 

[bctt tweet=”Your life is someone’s fairy tale.” username=”AndreaPatten”]

What if today we were grateful for everything?

 

Silent gratitude isn’t very much to anyone. ~ Gertrude Stein

Living one’s life in gratitude brings about a feeling of harvest, abundance, richness, and blessings received, and blessings bestowed. I have learned to look to the ordinary joys, the simple pleasures and find therein the best in all things. The beauty that surrounds us every day, the turning of the leaves to gold and red, the brightness of the moon and the chips of stars shining silver in the night, these things happen every day and every night. They are always there. ~ Chris Williamson

 

[bctt tweet=”When you are grateful, you are happy.” username=”AndreaPatten”]

 

I work very hard, and I play very hard. I’m grateful for life. And I live it – I believe life loves the liver of it. I live it. ~ Maya Angelou

It is not happy people who are thankful, it is thankful people who are happy. ~Unknown

Carrot on white backgroundIf you truly get in touch with a piece of carrot, you can get in touch with the soil, the rain, the sunshine. You get in touch with Mother Earth and eating in such a way, you feel in touch with true life, your roots, and that is meditation. If we chew every morsel of our food in that way we become grateful and when you are grateful, you are happy. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

 

 

 

 

 

 

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One Comment

  • Jane Carroll

    I love this post. Especially the quote… “if you can’t be grateful for what you have, you can always start with being grateful for what you don’t have.” I’ve never heard that but what a powerful practice it is. It’s definitely advice I will use.

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