GRATITUDE and Appreciation

November 7, 2021

Gratitude. Gratitude and sadness cannot co-exist. When you are grateful your sadness disappears. You can’t be saying wow at the same time you are saying ow. It just doesn’t happen. The more grateful you are the happier you will be. Gratitude puts things into perspective for you. It reminds you of what you have, not what you have lost, or don’t have. Wow is my favorite word, but thank you is not far behind. I say thank you all the time. Why? Because no one owes me anything. When someone chooses to do something for me, I say thank you. Gratitude shows how much you appreciate something. When you were a child didn’t your mother teach you to say thank you. Didn’t she tell you to thank someone when they did something for you? Why have adults forgotten the lessons of childhood? Growing up, does not mean you have to grow stupid. Those lessons worked then, and they will work now. Remember the wisdom of your mother. The other interesting thing is gratitude seems to work for strangers more than for family and friends. When a stranger does something for you, you say thank you. Even if the thing they did was not very big. When you pay a toll taker on the highway, you say thank you. Thank you for what? Thank you for taking my money? What is that all about. It would be more logical to say, “Have a nice day”. I don’t thank toll takers on the highways any more because I have Easy Pass, but I don’t understand why I would thank a toll taker. If someone holds a door for you instead of letting it slam in your face, you say thank you. That makes more sense, but how many times do you thank your husband or your children for holding the door for you. People seem to take those nearest and dearest to them for granted. They often forget what a gift the most important people in their lives are. Do this. Do that. Everything is expected not appreciated. It is not the way I run my life, I say thank you all the time. I never forget that no one owes me anything. I am happy. My husband and I had a marriage that got better and better year after year for almost 48 years, until he died. Our son, our only child, liked us when he grew up. I am here to tell you things get better, if they continue to be appreciated. The other thing is when you appreciate someone for doing something, they not only continue to do it, they do it better. If you say to your child I am so impressed with the way you keep your room neat. Your child will continue to do so. Your child likes to be appreciated, as we all do. He not only will keep his room neat, but he will do an even better job the next time as long as he continues to feel appreciated. Sometimes a hug with the words of appreciation works wonders at making a smile show up on his face. It also helps if you keep your own room neat. You are his role model. For the most part a child does not care much about whether he cleans his room or not, but when you notice and appreciate he has a neat room, he cleans it willingly. Sometimes a whole house might be a mess, but when company is coming it becomes spotless. Who could possibly be coming who is more important than the most important people in your life? If living a messy life style works for you, then leave it that way when the company comes. If it does not work for the company, then clean it up for your own family. Did you ever notice, if you cooked a meal and you were complimented about how good it was, the meal would show up on the table more often. Everyone likes to be appreciated. It doesn’t matter how young or how old you are. The third thing I want to tell you is when you appreciate the efforts of someone else, they will sooner or later find things to appreciate about you. Maybe it hasn’t happened for a while, so it might take time for the compliments to come. It might take longer for compliments to become habitual. Gratitude and appreciation should become your new behavior. As you start noticing the good things about others, they will start noticing the good things about you. if you can change you, you can change your world. You can turn frowns into a smiles. I like being happy. Part of the reason is happiness is so much easier than being grumbly. It is so much more fun too. Remember no one owes you anything. Change your behavior and see what happens. You might be surprised.

Granny-o