In May,  Remember to..... Be Grateful!

 

Since I know about the GOLDEN RULE  REVOLUTION  I already celebrate
“Be Grateful” in May.  When I see pink, I see “Grateful Pink”  and think
of someone I want to appreciate.

 

I  traditionally send many thank you notes.  It has already become a
“tradition” for me to do this.  Perhaps,  by joining the GOLDEN RULE
REVOLUTION, you will begin the “Be Appreciate in May” tradition along
with me.  I know I have thirty one days to work on being more grateful and
appreciative.   I have thirty-one days to catch up on sending  thank you notes to
people that I meant to send to....and didn’t...or to people I just want to remember
as being special in my life.    I think the people who receive my notes  are surprised
and pleased.  I know that I feel a deep sense of warmth down inside when my
handful of  thank you envelopes goes into the postal slot. 

 

You know there is a lot to the theory that happiness is derived more from your own
state of mind than from anything else.  It’s sort of like the old Peace Corps test of
whether you are an optimist or a pessimist.  They show you a picture of a glass half

filled with liquid and ask you to describe it.  Its the same picture and the same glass. 

The only difference is the perspective of the viewer who looks at it.  An optimist will see

the glass as half full.  A pessimist will see it as half empty.

 

Gratitude and appreciation are like that.  When you are filled with gratitude and
appreciation then you can’t be filled with longing, or greed,  or envy or jealousy. 
You don’t need to read a two hundred and fifty page book to learn that you don’t feel happy when you are feeling envious.

 

In the last several years Oprah Winfrey has become involved in the “kindness movement” and in helping her viewers find health and happiness in their own lives.  She suggests that one of the best ways to change your own perspective and attitude is to keep a “Grateful Journal”.  The Grateful Journal is a notebook you keep near your bedside.  Every night before going to sleep she suggests that you write down in the Journal at least five things that day that you are grateful for.  I have been doing that for a while - not perfectly - but enough to know it works.  It keeps my mind focused on the positive moments of each day instead of moments that might have brought me down.

           

We all know that kind caring attitudes and behavior create a win/win for us and others. They are a fulfillment of the standard set for us with the words of the Golden Rule,  “Do to others what you would like done to you.”   Take time this month to celebrate “Be Appreciative” in your own life and in your own way.  Notice and appreciate workers you pass by on the street or talk to as you move through your day.  Notice that person washing windows over there.  How about telling them how nice they look as you pass by.  Tell your children why you appreciate them.  And don’t forget to appreciate yourself.  You are important too.

 

Goal for the Month: In addition to appreciating others, take time to appreciate yourself ---- do something you’ve always wanted to do! 

 

“Together We Can Brighten the World We All Share”