This perfect Miss Pouty Pants pic is from http://www.singleparenttravel.net/
There was a saying around my house growing up that my mom especially liked to repeat “Gratitude is riches, complaint is poverty” (a line from a hymn in the Christian Science Hymnal). It was often recited at the most annoying (for me) moments. Like, for example… when I was complaining.
Over this past weekend, in a moment of mucky, gooey, disgusting frustration, I called my friend Phebe. With great drama, I demanded, “are we supposed to be happy??” [the implication being that it feels like a lot of work sometimes, so is it even natural?] With great patience and care, Phebe replied, in her awesome Phebe way, that she had heard an interview with some 1960’s popstar who had been asked if he was happy. He said he didn’t understand what the questioner meant by “happy” but that he considered himself blessed. Phebe assured me that we are meant to be and feel blessed, are blessed, and indicated that perhaps a better question might be: “are we grateful?” An affirmative to this question is sure to result in joy…and more blessings.
I am grateful!
You hear peppy-happy-positive people say that there are no problems, only opportunities (I’ve been peppy-happy-positive myself, because I’ve actually written that in this blog!); this is true, even if we’re not in the mood to accept it. As I’ve noted in that blog post about opportunities, opportunity comes from the word that literally means “come into the harbor”. I think of a harbor as a safe place, as home. This is all to say that I am wealthy in opportunities to come home…and for this I am grateful.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Ang,
“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” is one of the most famous phrases in the United States Declaration of Independence.
Americans have always known that having basic needs met is a human right. It fuels our famous can-do optimism, even if it doesn’t always win important soccer matches.
I agree with Phebe, that gratitude helps us forward on each step of this pursuit. If don’t feel like being happy, you can always be grateful for being born free.
Thanks for your excellent example of can-do spirit, and Happy Independence Day!!
xx Kendra
When a dear friend of mine passed away I was given a few of her belongings. She had been a Christian Science practitioner so I received a great collection of Sentinel and Journal articles. One afternoon I started going through the articles and I came across a beautiful leather appointment book. I opened it up and found the calendar and memo section completely empty, except for one quote:
“The natural condition of the human organism is joy. (Leonard)”
My initial response was, “It is?” and my second thought was, “Well, of course it is.”
I’ve since googled the quote to see where it is from, but I’ve come to think that perhaps “Leonard” was a friend of hers. Despite where it came from, it continues to stick with me. In moments of sadness, fear and discouragement I think about this quote. It reminds me that my origin and natural state of mind is joy and happiness. Why? Because that is how God made me- as His joy-filled and happy child.
Thank you for your blog…it reminded me of this quote and the JOY that is rightfully ours!
Thank you for posting this, and great comment, Kendra!
I also had a poop-tactular weekend, but I DO have a lot I can still be grateful for. While that doesn’t change the challenges that ARE still facing me, it does give me a more positive outlook to be able to deal with those challenges as gracefully as I can.
No one, and no thing, can make you react. It is always our choice. That’s a frustrating statement to have fired at you when you are upset, but it is the honest truth. It is always our choice how to act.
My beloved mother-in-law, who passed away 7 years ago, used to encourage us all to respond, not react.
I will ALWAYS be grateful for the time I had with her!
Fondly,
-k
Thanks, Ladies! How encouraging! Now, my next post may very naturally be one I have been thinking about…I took the Bill of Rights and wrote one for myself last year;-) Might be the perfect week to review that!