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.
An excellent way to look at life here!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Carolyn. It just occurred to me one day that often there is a positive flips side to something that could at first appear negative.
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