Gratitude

Gratitude. A word that is often nonexistent in our daily lives. Maybe it’s the culture we live in, or maybe we’ve just forgotten how to be thankful. And I’m not talking about being thankful for material wealth or social status. I’m talking about the true appreciation for our wellbeing.

For me gratitude comes and goes. It does get lost in the everyday grind and hustle of life. We’re constantly being thrown “influence” on how to life our lives, how to better ourselves, how to grow our wealth, ect. Sometimes it seems as though we’ve forgotten how to listen to ourselves. We need to be better at leading ourselves.

I get trapped inside this whirlwind of pushing myself to reach this point of where I think I should be. I get caught in a mind trap of thinking I am not good enough with where I’m currently at- I need to be better. I can’t tell you where that “achievement” place is, but I’ve been conditioned to feel that way by social media and the outside world. It’s like a sickness.

Gratitude is about being thankful for what you have right now. Appreciating the life you are living right now. Recognize all the goodness in today. I know it’s easier said than done, but when you allow yourself to just breathe for today it becomes so much easier.

Everyone has their struggles, their heartaches, their worries….we’re all human and we all feel the ups and downs of life. It’s okay to not be okay and to feel those things, but don’t forgot to feel the warmth of the good things. They exist too.

Gratitude is also about being thankful for your past. Whether is was good or bad, it led you to today. Maybe something was built from the past to help you succeed now. Maybe being at the wrong place showed you where you needed to go. Maybe someone from your past motivated you to work harder for your dreams. Positive things from the past are easy to recognize, but the hard times need their moment too. They shaped you into who you are today. That's worth some gratitude.

I will try to slow down this rush of self-achievement I’ve placed on myself to appreciate my life for what it is right now. Not for what I wished it would be, but for everything it has already become. I want to meet each day with gratitude for I don’t know how many I’ll have left. We never know.

Be grateful for another day, appreciate the little things in your life, be thankful for your loved ones. Give yourself some grace today. No one is perfect, and everyone is still just trying to figure themselves out. Life is a journey, it’s not a race. It’s crazy and messed up at times, but it’s also beautiful. Be thankful for that beauty.