What Do You Do For Fun? Lessons in Gratitude.

Question: “What do you do for fun?”

Answer: “I find fun in every day.”

I was raised by a mother who found beauty and joy in every day. Even on the days in her life, that were challenging. On those days, the only beauty kind of beauty may have been that she opened her eyes. When you think about it, though, that’s really not so small.

I’m not trying to make light of the fact that we all have times in our lives that don’t seem joyous or beautiful in the slightest. And, some of us face incredible challenges, physically, emotionally, financially etc., on a daily basis. But. And there is a But. We can ALL find one thing (and probably more) of beauty if we take the time to try. A cloud; a leaf; a child walking to school; a bird; the thousands of cute puppy pictures on social media; a drop of rain; even the weed that peaks its head through the crack in the sidewalk. Beauty, is many things, large and small, and surrounds us if we are just willing to see it.

In Mindful magazine, NBA coach George Mumford, described Neville Goddard’s approach in The Power of Awareness, “You create your reality by what you focus on. You become what you think.”

I was blessed with a mother who lived by that rule. Who taught by example. She didn’t make it look easy. She made it look REAL. There were times I saw her anger, her fear, and sadness, but those days she was also able to show her gratitude for a multitude of blessings she could choose to put her focus on. She never lost sight of the simple wonders that surrounded us all.

I try to keep a gratitude journal. Sometimes it is really difficult to move the negative feelings aside and write about beauty. Some days all you want to write is pain and sadness. And anger! And…?! Those are the days  I may only write: I am grateful that I can FEEL; and that I have a pen and paper; the sun came up; or, I can see clouds; or, the dog is sitting next to me. What I discover is, that often, those small observances I’ve pushed myself to put down on paper, can make me laugh and their insignificance doesn’t feel so unimportant after all. As I start to focus on the tidbits of joy, I inevitably start to look for more. The outside world didn’t change because I chose to see beauty, but the inside of ME began a shift. Feeling that, keeps me picking up that pen every day. And living the way my mother taught me.

An old friend said to me recently, “Don’t focus on writing your resume. Think about writing your eulogy.” An interesting perspective to use in our daily life.

Since each day we open our eyes is a blessing, let’s try to focus on just ONE thing of beauty. Today. And, if by chance, that should multiply to TWO, or THREE, well… smile, and give thanks.

                    My mother’s hand-drawn heart

Remember ~ Treasure ~ Love…

Kitt

If you still aren’t convinced that changing your focus can change your life, take a look at this book by my friend, Janice Kaplan.

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