thanksgiving

you know those books that you read, the thought-provoking ones? the ones that make you wish you knew the author and could call them and ask more questions or share your thoughts with? i just finished one of those...its called "a piece of cake" by cupcake brown. this book really resonated with me and made me reflect on MY life and how blessed i am. not lucky, but truly blessed; something i take for granted, that i overlook constantly...i guess out of greed or ignorance. after reading that book, and attending church two weeks ago at next level church with a sermon on "how to be rich" (not get rich, but BE rich...not in a sense of wealth but in a sense of gratitude) and by watching the nightly news... God might as well of put a flashing neon sign in front of my face saying "dont you realize how much i have blessed you?" i dont consider myself "blessed" because i have a closet full of the seasons fashion trends or because i have a fairly new car in my garage... i am blessed because i have a body that is healthy. not only is my body healthy but i have health insurance should anything happen. i have a mind that works, and i know how to read. not only that but i have access to money to pay for education. education that many people dont have the opportunity or the resources to get. i have a house to live in....with electricity and running water. clean running water. i have a family that loves me and supports me. i have food, always available whenever i want and however much i want. i have never really suffered thru anything extremely traumatic such as rape or being homeless or being deathly ill or loosing a loved one. any adversity i have encountered in my life has been my wrong doing. my poor decisions. my list of blessings could go on FOREVER. my point is i need to learn to be aware of these blessings, to focus on the positive, not the negative. to realize that any hardship i may have has most likely been self-inflicted. God has done nothing but set me up for a happy, healthy, successful life. its important that i count my blessings, not my so-called "problems", once i take into consideration how blessed i am - its comforting to know that i have everything i need. that i live a life that most people would love to have. being in a state of constant gratitude is the only way to live, is the only way to be happy. i can so quickly get into a mentality of self-pity or greed or envy of other people or feeling victimized or not adequate enough or angry or selfish... all of those negative feelings and thoughts dont allow to realize how fortunate i am to wake up in my comfy bed, brush my teeth with clean water, pick out clean clothes from my closet, and go downstairs to make coffee and eat a nutritional, filling breakfast. i need to remind myself to consider how very fortunate i am, and to consider it often; daily.  if you can make the decision to be genuinely positive and honestly grateful, life is much more enjoyable, richer, fulfilling, joyful and beautiful.