Attitude of Gratitude


     Complaining is a habit with me. Even if I don’t actually say the complaint out loud, I often have a head full of them. And I complain the most about other complainers. When is she ever gonna stop complaining about her job?  I wish he would stop complaining about his friend.
      I recently went to an AA meeting where the topic was about gratitude. At first, I found myself complaining about another meeting on gratitude. As the discussion continued, I realized I was starting to see how much I needed to hear about gratitude. Gratitude changes me. Gratitude gives me hope and peace no matter what is going on in my life. People who had little to be grateful for were sharing their stories about how gratitude brought good things into their lives. Jobs have been offered to people who have a grateful heart because people like to be around them.  Restaurant clients paid for a meal because they saw the attitude of appreciation in someone’s parenting.
     I went home from that meeting and I made a gratitude list. I noticed as I was making the list of things I am grateful for, my attitude switched entirely. I was no longer blaming others for my problems. The problems shrunk. I saw the good things my spouse was doing instead of pointing out how many things he still needed to complete.  Appreciation for family members started to take the place of my criticisms. I noticed that thanking God for his goodness to me is like starting the day all over again.
      Why did I wait so long to recognize that I need gratitude? Can I continue to remember this simple thing? I will hang a sign on my bathroom mirror tonight that says Gratitude; it’s a day changer I thank God for his goodness to me because it is always there, even when I’m looking the other way.
Sunset, Nature, Waters, Dusk, Dawn