Being Grateful For What You Don't Have

Image:Marie Vonow

People talk about the benefits of feeling gratitude for the good things in life. But there are times one feels there isn’t much to feel gratitude for. This feeling can descend on us when there are lots of stresses or we are weary. Perhaps you often ask yourself what is there to feel gratitude for in my ordinary life? There is another way of looking at life. Can you be grateful for what you don’t have, for the things you have escaped or avoided? Can you see the positive side of what initially appears a negative?

Health

Good health is a blessing. Perhaps you don’t consider you have excellent health so you ask yourself what there is to feel grateful for. Perhaps you have poor eyesight. However, you don't have hearing impairment. You may have high blood pressure but you don't have arthritis.

Home

A nice home is something people usually desire. You may desire a bigger house or one in a more upmarket suburb. Maybe you would like a larger block.

A smaller house can mean less housework, only one bathroom to scrub. There is less furniture to dust and clean. Remember you don’t have high insurance premiums and exorbitant council rates. (Perhaps you feel your council rates are over the top for the area you live in. Sorry, I can’t help you with that.)

Garden

Your garden may be small and you long for more space. You would like to plant trees and have a wider range of plants. However, you don't have to do as much weeding and can use the time you aren’t spending weeding on other hobbies. Perhaps you can use that time to explore nearby parks. This way you can enjoy larger expanses of trees, grass and flowers without a high water bill and having to toil keeping it all under control.

Material possessions

You may not have a lot of material possessions and it isn’t because you went on a decluttering spree. You have never had as much as the people you see around you. 

This means it is easier to maintain the things you do own and you have less storage problems. It is easier to find things and there is less dusting. If you need to move house the packing and unpacking will be much easier. And your contents insurance premium is lower.

Pets

Perhaps you would like to have pets but can’t because your landlord doesn’t allow them. As a pet lover I realise pet ownership has many positives and pets bring love into a home. 

However, if you have no pets you don’t have to make arrangements for their care if you go away and there is no one at home to look after them. You have no vet bills and I can tell you those bills can mount up, especially with a senior pet. As well you never come home to damage caused by a young or unruly pet.

Job

You may feel disappointed at having missed out on that promotion with its higher rate of pay. On the flip side you don't have to do lots of overtime and that means more time with family, more time to do the things you love. You don't have as much pressure and it is easier to achieve a work/life balance.

Many situations which don’t initially appear to be something you can feel gratitude for have a flip side. You may have to think for a while to see the advantages of your situation and what it is you could have escaped but it is another way of looking at your life. There can be positive aspects to what initially appears negative.