Thoughts on Gratitude

I missed a day...I guess you could say I had no "deep thoughts". I think this blog has become a reminder for me to sit and reflect on something - to "Be Still".

Today I decided to think more on the subject of gratitude or the lack thereof.

What brings me to this topic is my husband. Every once in a while, he will just sit and stare. After a few moments he will get a huge grin on his face and say "We are SO blessed!" He does this quite frequently, too. I could not agree with him more! We are such blessed people, especially those of us that have the gospel in our lives. With that knowledge, the blessings never cease!

So why is it that at times we forget how blessed we are and forget to be grateful? Why do we get those moments where we feel like complaining? My personal opinion is that the moment we start comparing ourselves to others is the moment we stop being grateful. I think we see the "Jones'" next door who have everything and we don't. We see them with their 4 houses, 3 cars and a boat ;-) They seem happier and content because of all they have. We see them happy and become unhappy. We think they must be happy because of what they have, and we must be unhappy because we "have not".

It's like Dr. Seuss' star bellied sneetches. They ran around trying to be the ones with "stars upon thars" and then once they noticed everyone else had it too, they ran around trying to remove them. They ran so quickly from here to there that they lost track of what they were trying to achieve- who they were tyring to "one up". They lost track of what was "the cool thing to do". They forgot to be grateful for what they did have. They forgot to be grateful for their unique personalities, their differences. They focused on what others had, rather than what they had.

I know I am frequently guilty of this mind set. We have friends who have a nicer home, or who have more toys, or who have a cooler car, or who have no debt, or have a big TV, or have a better job that pays more, or seem to have no worries or whatever! The problems arises when we stop worrying about what we are doing to improve and start to worry about someone else!

Have you ever really sat down and tried to "count your blessings"? I don't do it nearly enough. I know I have a million things to be grateful for. I have an amazing husband, incredible family and extended family, beautiful nieces and nephews, a great home, all the food we could ever need, a great job, my health, the gospel, a room full of scrapbook supplies ;-), an education, transportation etc. The list goes on and on! There is so much. And even if all those things weren't on my list--I have my family and the gospel. That in and of itself is so much to be grateful for.

With that said, I should probably get to the quote... I thought it would be appropriate to use a quote from President Hinckley's B's. No one could say it better.

"Walk with gratitude in your hearts, my dear friends. Be thankful for the wonderful blessings which are yours. Be grateful for the tremendous opportunities that you have...

Thank the Lord for His goodness to you. Thank the Almighty for His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who has done for you what none other in all this world could do. Thank Him for His great example, for His tremendous teachings, for His outreaching hand to lift and help...Pour out your heart to your Father in Heaven in gratitude for the gift of His Beloved Son.

Thank the Lord for His marvelous Church restored in this great season of history. Thank Him for all that it offers you. Thank Him for friends and loved ones, for parents and brothers and sisters, for family. Let a spirit of thanksgiving guide and bless your days and nights. Work at it. You will find it will yield wonderful results." --President Gordon B. Hinckley