Thankful Thursday – Post 21

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others. - Cicero 

Being thankful can almost act like a window into a better world. The actual world around you won’t change, but you’ll see different things then you did before.

In the picture above, you can focus on the sharp rocks surrounding the view, or you can marvel at the blue water seen through the hole in the rocks.

Being thankful does not mean denying reality … the rocks are still there and if you scraped your leg on them, it would hurt. But by looking at the water, it takes away some of the harshness of the rocks.

One unwanted thing in my world right now is that it’s the first week of April and we’re not having the warm weather we usually do. Temps are around freezing and I think we’ve had rain every other day lately … so what can I be thankful for when thinking of that?

• A furnace full of oil
• Blankets
• Sweatshirts
• A comfortable car with heat

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Being thankful softens the harsh things of life … and it amplifies positive things — like frosting on a cake. I’m so thankful for some positive things this week.

• That I was able to go to Bermuda in ’09 and take the above picture.
• Doing yoga twice this week
• My neck/shoulder feeling better
• A good run on Sunday
• A surprise mention by Top Running Tips
• Getting to chat with Bart Yasso on Twitter on #BartChat
• Some tweaking done to this site by the expert Peter Pollock - there’s now an Events and Archive page and a new commenting system. There’s even a thumbs-up button … if you like what you read, click on it. (ignore the thumbs-down button ;)

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Speaking of the commenting system, it’s your turn … try it out. What are you thankful for? What can you be grateful for in the middle of life’s harshness? Or what positive thing(s) deserves your thankfulness?