Attitude of Gratitude

I know its not Thanksgiving and that is when everyone talks about gratitude but I believe that we should be grateful for everything we have. I need to work on this more. It is so easy to see what we lack. We never see what we have until it is gone. What if we recognized what we have when it is in front of us? What if we showed more love and service and recognized the blessings we have? Do you have thank God for your bed, healthy body, food, clothes, house, friends, family, money, job, education, past, trials? There is so much to be grateful for but we need to keep our eyes open to what we have. I know that I close my eyes to what I have and seek for what I don't have. I wonder how my life would be different If I looked at what I had. Would I be more happy and less self centered?

We sang Count Your Blessings today in church and had a talk about gratitude. Lately, I have been frustrated about my life. I want my answers and I have to keep being pacient. I have put my life in hold as I wait. I have learned today that amid frustration and waiting we can find happiness. There is no reason to put your life on hold while waiting for answers. There is no need to have anxiety and nervousness. If we are grateful for every moment in our life that we life, then we will be more pleasant and more willing to serve. Even those moments full of fear and despair. They have meaning in our life as well to those moments full of joy. I think that service and gratitude are connected. Self centeredness will come from a lack of gratitude.

In moments of hard times, how do you react? Do you withdrawal or try to focus more on others? What if we showed more gratitude when we were dealing with major trials?

Maybe these quotes can inspire you!
"It opens our minds to a universe permeated with the richness of a living God. Through it, we become spiritually aware of the wonder of the smallest things, which gladden our hearts with their messages of God’s love. This grateful awareness heightens our sensitivity to divine direction"

All things means just that: good things, difficult things—not just some things. He has commanded us to be grateful because He knows being grateful will make us happy. This is another evidence of His love.
Bonnie D. Parkon

“The grateful man sees so much in the world to be thankful for, and with him the good outweighs the evil. Love overpowers jealousy, and light drives darkness out of his life.”
President Joseph F. Smith

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