You are what you think

I’m Grateful

When I was a young girl, my Mom or Dad always said a short prayer with my sister and me when we went to bed.   At a certain point, I don’t remember my age, my Dad asked that we say a “few gratefuls” after we prayed.  At the time, I didn’t think much of his request, but as I got older, I realized how it set a great precedent that I would follow from my childhood into adulthood. 

I can’t say that I have never been jealous or experienced a bit of envy, but generally I have always been grateful and appreciated my life, friends, family, and situation.  Looking back to my childhood when I said “my gratefuls”, I appreciate the precedent my Dad set so many years ago. 

Recently, while camping, Sal and I met a man who currently lived at the RV park where we were staying.    We were running our dogs on the baseball field and he arrived with his dog.  He told us that the home he had rented for a number of years burned down in the Campfire Forest Fire in California.  He lost everything but his travel trailer and vehicles.    He told me, “I was always afraid I’d be homeless, but not in this way”.   He added this actually works better since I don’t have lots of stuff that I don’t need, and I can live much cheaper in my trailer and staying in RV Parks.  He said, “I believe God meant this to be and it is working for me.” We were driving our new truck and were pulling our new travel trailer and it really struck us and we said to each other how grateful we are for our situation.  It didn’t sound like he had much, but he was a friendly happy guy and seemed grateful for what he had and his life. Minimalism isn’t a bad thing.  Of course, this is coming from a person that isn’t a minimalist, but as I get older, I realize that things don’t make you happy. 

I believe that being grateful has many positive implications.  A grateful person is happy, probably takes better care of themselves, and I would think is thus healthier.   A grateful person attracts good people and good things.   I think you make better decisions when you are grateful since you are thoughtful and mostly optimistic (we all have our moments).  I even read recently in an article on sleep, that keeping a gratitude journal can help you sleep better.  Who knew?

So, I’ll say it again, you are what you think and thinking about “our gratefuls” is a beneficial practice!