Gratefulness

Hey there! I had a bit of down time today and thought I would sit down and write a little post! Today I've spent a lot of time thinking about gratefulness and what is truly important in life. I've been really conflicted on the whole concept for a while now. Bear with me, this is where I get rambly and confusing. A part of me has always been ashamed of myself when I get too invested in something small. For example, how could I possibly get so excited over purchasing an adorable new dress-sometimes so excited that I absolutely convince myself that it will make me an even slighter happier person. Whenever I used to encounter a situation like this, I would try to talk myself out of that excitement and feel bad about it. I would try to explain to myself that that dress did not really matter in the big scheme of things. That it is silly to think a simple dress could make my day or week or even month. It is superficial. It is not really important. However, last summer I read a book, and forgive me I cannot recall the title at this moment, but it was about a woman experimenting with her happiness. This woman found that the key to perpetual happiness is daily happiness. Now, she did not mean that one has to be happy all day every day. However, she explains that it in fact IS the little things, like a new dress that brightened my day, that make us happy on a long-term scale. After reading this book, I became more accepting of my little indulgences that make me happy. I try to remind myself of this often. I also still believe that gratefulness on a grander scale is what can also make us happier. I came across a video, which I will link below, that really changed my perspective on happiness and the meaning of life. This video taught me that we should be grateful of each day we have and that each day is spent well as long as we have spent a least a second of it being grateful in some way. This may sound silly, however, I thought about this video the last week as I have been very very sick. I was unable to eat solid foods, unable to hang out with friends, unable to just relax without being in any sort of pain and much more. I know that people go through a lot worse than what I experienced last week. That is not the point of my story. My point is that when I got well again, I realized how much I take granted for in my everyday life. I take for granted the fact that I can eat whatever food I want to eat and enjoy this food too. I can spend time with my friends and laugh and share stories. I can breathe deeply and sit still in peace. These are privileges. These are things that after my week of being sick I felt very appreciative of. So, I have come to realize that happiness for me comes from the smallest of pleasures to the grandest of notions. Be grateful for every breath you take. Be grateful for the warm sun. Be grateful for your ability to walk down the street. Be grateful for those new pair of shoes. Be grateful for that delicious lunch. Be grateful for that new dress. Be grateful.

That's all for now.

-m

ps. Here is the video.