An Inspiration

Don’t you just hate those people who open their eyes in the darkness of the early morning, singing and being genuinely cheerful and simply happy to be alive?

I wake up next to one of those people every morning, my amazing wife Bless. Our chihuahua, Marlee, is journeying through congenital heart disease and being older, she often wakes up long before the alarm goes off coughing and hacking.

I lay there in bed feeling sad for the dog but also unhappy that my deep sleep state is disturbed well before the sun has even stirred the horizon, but not Blessy, she jumps out of bed cheerfully saying c’mon Marlee, let’s get you some food.

Now I’m not talking about popping the top off a can or ripping open a bag of dog food, no, we’re talking about cooking and chopping into bite size pieces (Marlee has less teeth at her age) a meal of chicken, pork or something else equally as delicious for the little dog. Marlee is pampered. And no, I do not hate it; I am instead inspired, and grateful.

Blessy has mastered a life skill that many of us struggle with and continue to practice; she has made up her mind to be grateful and cheerful regardless of the external circumstances.

Even looking out the window to see a fat layer of snow blanketing the ground after tasting several warm and sunny days her response is, “I am so grateful I have today off and don’t have to drive in this weather; I get to play with my dog and my African Violets today yaaay!”

Developing an attitude of gratitude has been something I have struggled with and practiced for some time; I was raised in a family where grumbling and complaining was the normal daily ritual so feeling grateful has not been a natural state of mind for me.

Yet day after day, I continue to be inspired by my amazing wife as she jumps out of bed cheerfully singing and ready to create a day that she will enjoy.

An attitude of gratitude is a choice we all get to make. As the late Dr. Wayne Dyer said we have two choices, we can wake up each day, look out the window and say good god, morning, or we can say good morning God with a smile on our face regardless of the external environment.

Bless has made the decision to practice feeling grateful every day. Cultivating this attitude and practicing it daily has formed it into a habit.

There is always something we can feel grateful for she says, just look around. We have snow in April, yes, and we also have a furnace keeping us warm inside. We have a dog who is suffering a slow death, but we also get the opportunity to improve the quality of her life daily and enjoy her playful moments.

This week, ponder your morning ritual; do you wake up grumbling and complaining, thus, setting the feeling tone for the day to be one of unhappiness? Or do you practice the Life Skill of seeking out everything you can feel grateful for and begin each day with an attitude of gratitude.

Seek and you will find. Look for things to complain about and you will be given plenty; on the other side of that coin, the L.I.F.T strategy is a life skill worth mastering; Living In the Feeling Tone of gratitude attracts more things into each day to feel grateful for.

I am grateful to wake up next to someone who starts each day with a cheerful disposition because it improves not only her own life experience, but the lives of everyone who sees her each day and that is inspiring to me; how about you?

Thanks for reading Little Ways and thank you for being exactly who you are!

Namaste’

Char

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Category: Transgender Body & Soul