Giving thanks

It's easy to focus on the negative. On what we DON'T have. On what is lacking in our lives. It's easy to let our circumstances dictate our attitude.
OR we can pick gratitude.
Gratitude is contagious.
It's infectious.
It changes things.
I live a life of abundance. I have SO much. My life is so rich. Sure, there are things in life that I am lacking. Things I desire. Things I wish could change. But I live a life of incredible abundance!
I've been seeing people's posts on Facebook about their 30 days of thanks. I love it, but I wonder, shouldn't we live a LIFE of thanks? Not just a month? The holiday seasons are hard. We are bombarded with bigger, better, newer, shinier, fancier, more expensive things. We start thinking "maybe the 20 pairs of shoes in my closet AREN'T enough. Maybe I DO need a bigger TV, a newer car, a better phone..." It's in these moments that I'm reminded of the hundreds of faces I saw while in Africa. The children begging for as little as an apple. The teeny, tiny little kids who didn't have ANY shoes, who were lucky to eat one meal every other day, who lived with 7 other people in a "house" that we would consider a small closet. I remember hearing my dear, sweet Leah tell me of how, after her mother died and her father abandoned them, she had to do "horrible things" to provide food for her and her two younger siblings. She was 6 at the time. Six years old. She was a child, carrying the burden of an adult.
And it's in those memories, those moments that I am reminded of just how incredibly lucky I am. How much luxury I live in. How much I have to be thankful for.
I was given an INCREDIBLE education. For free.
I got to eat three meals. Every single day.
I never shared a room. Ever
Every year, I got at least one new pair of shoes.
I have lived a life of absolute abundance.
I have SO much to be grateful for.
And trust me, I get it, my life has NOT been perfect. I have had my fair share of heart ache and pain and suffering and brokenness. But that doesn't mean I can't live a life of gratitude. That doesn't mean I can't be grateful.
It's challenging. But I think it's a challenge we absolutely need to approach.
Our lives need a huge dose of gratitude. And not just once a month. But once a month is a beautiful place to start. 

Gratitude

Gratitude.

gratitude |ˈgratəˌt(y)o͞od|nounthe quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.
My 4th grade teacher used to say "Gratitude is a RAD-itude!" He was an extremely simple man who loved everyone he met. To this day, I can't hear the word, and not think of him. Gratitude has changed me. It has altered my perspective. It has totally adapted the lens through which I see life. I can CHOOSE thankfulness. I can CHOOSE to celebrate every blessing that comes my way. I can get extremely stoked about the moments of breakthrough and progress that I see in my life. I don't have to be bummed. I don't have to expect failure or sadness or depression or bad things. I can have a thankful heart and mind and life! Gratitude is incredible, and it changes you. When you posture your life to find things to be thankful for, instead of the opposite, you begin to notice all of the wonderful and lovely things in life. 
A friend of mine mentioned a website to me once. It's called the 30 Day Gratitude Challenge.  It talks ALL about gratitude, and its effects on your life. Each month, I get an email that has a different challenge in it. This month's challenge: Do one thing each week (minimum) that makes you happier. The e-mail contains dozens of blogs and videos that have information and ideas about this very topic. There is a blog that has 30+ was to make OTHERS more happy. 
I've decided to take on this challenge. And, to add to it, I will also do one thing a week to make another person happy. So far, this week, I sent out a dozen thank you notes to friends. I addressed them, stuck stamps on them, and sent them through (gasp) "snail-mail" to be delivered to their homes. Maybe I'm the only one, but I LOVE getting mail.... I will keep you all posted on my weekly "happy" thing as the week goes on. Check out the web site! Join the challenge! Get excited about life! Be happy! You're allowed to be!