Going back and finishing college has made such a huge difference in my life. It took a long string of complex scenarios that happened to happen at just the right time for it to happen, but God saw to it that they all happened at just exactly the right time, and here I am. And in this last semester of undergraduate study, I got a message sent to me in a class that I think I knew, but needed to hear verbalized to understand it fully. I was in my Philosophy of Religion class, and we were discussing the nature of religion and typical acts associated with religion. And then my professor said it. Your level of gratitude is directly proportionate to your level of happiness. Truer words have never been spoken in my opinion. Life is so much how you take it. And I have been to both extremes folks. I have had the worst attitude about my circumstances and all that happened to me in the past, at never was able to acknowledge all the good things that were happening. Now, since I have learned that you must be grateful for the good stuff that you have coming to you, it seems that the good stuff just keeps coming! I attribute that to God's Will. I wish I was able to conduct a study of how many people are grateful for the blessings they receive rather than take it for granted they are owed those blessings, or even get upset that they aren't getting the blessings they think they deserve, even without doing their part to obtain those blessings. I would be interested to see how many people who are more grateful have more good things come their way. I guess this was a random post huh? I just was thinking during my jog yesterday about this, so I wanted to put it into black and white. It's my blog so thpppppt! hahah.
So I generally take today off from working out but I have to at least go lightly today. I am taking tomorrow off instead so I can be fresh for Saturday's 5k. I am so looking forward to a little competition and also helping out a good cause. It is for Toys for Tots, and Lord knows I love me some kids!
Unfortunately it is easier to be grateful when good things are happening to you. It's hard to be grateful OR happy when you're in a dark cycle, when Life takes your balls in a vice grip and doesn't let go. Consequently, it's hard to feel close to God when bad shit happens to you and the world around you.
ReplyDeleteIt takes a special and strong person to be grateful during difficult times, happy even in the midst of a gloomy cycle, and close to God in the face of tragedy.