Life is Short! Remember to ENJOY it, and to be Grateful for What You Have!
Yesterday I tossed out a quick question to the crowd, suggesting that Something Feels Wrong With the World.
Evidently, it touched a nerve in people because it quickly became my most read and commented post in several months. Which was completely unexpected.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Denmarkguy and I sat out on the back porch, considering a world processing the aftermath of the incident in Las Vegas, oddly "punctuated" by the sudden passing of musician Tom Petty. In spite of all the death and mayhem, we determined we have a lot to be thankful for.
Remember to ENJOY your Life!
Red autumn leaf
For me, this most recent incident just goes to show how life is really pretty fragile, and it can be unexpectedly snuffed out in a matter of seconds. One moment you're at a concert with 1000's of people, the next moment you're dead. There's no planning for that, unless your idea of living life is to become a hermit, sleeping under a rock somewhere.
Anyway, I wanted to revisit yesterday's post because we often do tend to focus a lot on what has gone WRONG (and I willingly include myself in that group!), while overlooking-- or maybe taking for granted-- all those things that go RIGHT, every single day.
Please understand, I'm not some "Positive Polly" running around urging people to find rainbows and pink unicorn glitter in every shitstorm... I'm just suggesting that you, I , all of us take a few moments every day-- preferably in the morning-- to reflect on what is good and right.
Because lots of things are. And we could use a little balance, these days. Even when things are turbulent.
The Practice of Gratitude... and How it Matters
It's odd, how little time we dedicate to being grateful and saying "thank you."
White flowering bush in our garden
This morning, I was really grateful for an excellent cup of coffee. We're trying a new brand of coffee, and it turned out most excellent! I took all of 15 seconds to just pause and go "Wow... this is really GOOD!" to myself, rather than just automatically heading for my home office downstairs.
My cat Shadow follows me everywhere, more like he's a dog... and he jumped up on my desk demanding some attention. So I took a couple of minutes to really "pay attention," and be grateful for his furry friendship, rather than just try to "type around him."
Yesterday, Mrs. Denmarkguy discovered that her PayPal account had somehow been compromised; $1200 in fraudulent charges had gone through. All because of "inadequate security on a 3rd party website." Two hours of phone calls later-- including 1/2 hour with our local bank, which was charged as a "backup funding source"-- the wheels of several fraud departments had slowly been set turning.
So this morning she says "You know, I think I'll take Joy at the bank some flowers. She listened to me bitch about cheats and criminals for 30 minutes, yesterday."
Small things. Gratitude. Appreciation for what is right.
Finding the Positive Doesn't Mean Going Overboard...
Santolina varietal in bloom
Yesterday, my day was greatly improved when I came across a post by @eric-boucher, which added some perspective. I normally know Eric as one of Steemit's finest curators and commenters... hos post Happy Mondays?! Really??? added a bit of unexpected brightness to the day. Give it a read-- lots of beautiful photos! And thanks, Eric.
Meanwhile, I am thankful for Steemit... this amazing community which offers us a place to float our experiences and words out into the ethers... where we might encounter connections that might make us feel a little less alone, or "weird," or "off center." I am grateful for this place.
So... find something good about today, and take a moment to say "thank you!"
How about YOU? Do you take time out to be grateful for things in daily life? Things you might take for granted? Have you noticed the world mostly focusing on the negative? Have you found balance in life? Leave a comment-- share your experiences and feedback-- be part of the conversation!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Published 20171003 15:47 PDT
Agreed! You hit the nail on the head there. Sometimes one can forget to be thankful and highlight only the bad. Reminds me of when I was a live sound engineer, rarely did people say when it sounded great but they were always very quick to let me know if I'd made a mistake!
And I don't think it makes you a "Positive Polly", it's a pretty nice name all the same. It's good to take note and be grateful, and if you're can remind others to do so then even better. It's boring to overhear or even have to listen to a person moan about the most arbitrary things, 1st world problems. Much more interesting to hear someone say how great their day was or how cool something is!
I like to think I try to remind myself of these things, but no one's perfect. Just thinking about it and reflecting upon our actions is a good start though.
Hah! More than a few times I have shook my head at friends and acquaintances and said "Yeah, you and your First World Problems. It's a terrible thing!"
After which people laugh nervously as they realize they really have it pretty good.
I don't claim to be perfect at this by ANY means... just doing my best to find balance in the equation. And I'm certainly not beyond bellyaching when something really bad happens!
Hahahaha me too for sure!
It's always good to remind people they're lucky just to have first world problems...
The news media accentuates the negative.
People evidently do NOT read history
nor understand how good they have it.
I recall seasonal epidemics...hundreds died...EVERY YEAR.
(polio, diphtheria, encephaliltis, the list goes on)
That no longer happens..
Almost everyone has clean water, indoor plumbing, electricity, enough to eat, etc..
and yet they bitch.
CONSTANTLY
As we're both fond of saying: "if it bleeds, it leads."
Tragedy sells newspapers... well, at least it did, once upon a time.
Fear is the mindkiller... and the media excels at spreading it.
We've eliminated many virulent diseases.
So they "invent" new ones to worry about.
Absolutely....gratitude is the basis of a happy life. One can always yearn for more. Lets be honest, unless you are of the ilk of Bill Gates, someone always has more. Plus, life isnt a bowl of cherries so do not expect it to be. Bad things happen in life. At times it is unfair and outright sucks. So be it.
No matter where you are at, what you are going through, or what challenges you face, there is always something to be grateful for. Being a "victim" is a sure fire way to being miserable.
Thank you for the reminder.
Indeed, it seems like someone else always has "more," and it's a life of frustration to stay eternally focused on what we don't have, rather than what we DO have.
Besides, I get really annoyed by the whole victimology approach....
Your post from yesterday and the discussion in the comments was a lot to take in. I did not comment on it. As my son grows up, I get more and more concerned about the world environment he will be thrust into. We are grateful for so many things in out daily lives, we know so many have it worse off than us, but the state of the country/world issue always hangs over like a looming storm in the distance.
Thank you for always bringing thought-provoking topics for us to discuss.
You do bring up a point that strikes a chord around here... in our case, it's our grandchildren's future we worry about... what sort of world are we building for them; what is the legacy (if any?) they will inherit?
I try to live by the mantra "always do your best" even if I have to admit that there are sometimes situations in which "my best" turns out to simply not be enough. Even so, we have to go forward... and in the meantime, try to be grateful for the small victories and the places where our efforts did make a difference.
One of the reasons why living in Asia is much better for me, is the constant whining and moaning in the west !
It seriously gets me down.
The 'softeness' brought on by decadence - I just find irritating .
Living here, life is tougher - more dangerous for sure - but it makes me immeasurably happier. I feel MORE alive.
I wake up every morning grateful for another sunny day, eating breakfast on my balcony, with the geckos, and reading steemit.
(plus have mental problem, I think. Anything below 25 degrees depresses me! lol)
To be sure, there is a lot of whining here in the US (particularly) and in the west. It grinds me down a bit when someone goes on and on about how they "can't afford" some luxury no person in their right mind would ever think they "need," in the first place.
Sounds like you've found a place that works for you-- I don't "do" heat and humidity, but I have considered the southernmost parts of Chile and Argentina.... my "mental defect" is that I become a miserable sweaty mess at anything above 25 degrees...
Agreed. (apart form the heat part).
We (the west) suffer from the can opener con ( I like to call it).
I have a can opener - no moving parts - and will last a lifetime - if i don't lose it. Guess what?- it open cans perfectly well ( and a bottle open the other end. happy days!).
This cost me a dollar - 8 years ago.
Now look at the size of the market for can openers, (different types ect.). And the prices. And 'we' fall for it.
If we do this with can openers, ( a thing to open a can ffs!) we have gone a little bit nuts, and need a reset, in my humble opinion.
The ain't nothing wrong if you are opening 30 cans a day to upgrade your can opener, but we have lost the common sense perspective.
At a huge detriment to our future generations.
You have my total agreement with that message, heading over to follow the discussion on your previous post now.
Thanks @uwelang... it has gotten rather "lengthy" over there.
I try to live in the moment and enjoy each day to the fullest. We never know what tomorrow may bring and worrying about it won't change it. What will be will be.
What will be will be, indeed. And worry is one of those emotions that tends to grind us down, even while not doing one bit of good.
I agree with you. Enjoy what you have today tomorrow will look after itself :)
I definitely try to enjoy-- and be thankful for-- what I have today. Whereas I do try to plan for tomorrow, I generally don't have a strong attachment to the outcome.
They do say tomorrow never comes, we only have to deal with today :)
Ese es un principio sano, real y verdadero, hay que ser conforme con todo lo que uno tiene, aunque sea nada, mejor dicho,. hay que aprender primero a amarse uno mismo, para que esto nazca la decisión de querer conformase con lo que uno tiene
Sometimes maybe the only things we have to be grateful for are friendships and family... and it is still important to express thankfulness. And yes, we have to love ourselves before we can really care for anyone else.
i really agree with you <3 x100 upvote :D
Thanks!