Be grateful for everything you have, but also for the things you don’t have.
This is one of my favourite lessons. Gratitude has played a big part in my life and I have found that the more I am grateful, the more I get to be grateful about. This lesson really hits home every time I go into hospital for surgery. I had 3 surgeries in each hospital, Liverpool hospital in Sydney & Alfred Hospital In Melbourne, staying in the Neurological ward for a min of 5 days each time, where all the people with brain injuries or conditions are. There are 2 or 4 people to a room. Sometimes I go to a hospital I end up in a room with someone hooked up to machines that cannot eat on or even breathe on their own. This is so sad, & this really makes me grateful for everything that I don’t have wrong with me.
When I think about all things I am grateful for…
I have the most amazing bed with clean sheets a feather doona, feather pillows, I have a warm shower every day with clean fresh fluffy towels. I have an amazing wardrobe with many clothes (in fact, too many clothes to choose from). I have over 50 pairs of shoes (okay I have a fetish, I know). I can drink clean water, I have gas & electricity, I am able to have beautiful fresh fruit and vegetables daily, have three healthy meals (okay, sometimes not-so-healthy). I had a virtually free education for 12 years of my life, (but have invested more than $20,000 on Personal Development Education) most of my medical bills have been paid by Medicare, (though I have paid over $7,000 in things not covered), I can read and write (with the help of spell checker lol), I have the power to vote, even though there is no one worth voting for; I have wonderful friends that love and support me, my family are amazing and I love them to bits, I love my job it brings me joy and fill my life with fun and passion.
I am grateful for everything.
I am also extremely grateful for the things that I don't have. I’m not afraid that if I walk down the street I could be killed, raped or beaten up because of the colour of my skin, my religion, or “just because”. I don’t have to worry about where my next meal will come from or where I will sleep tonight. I don't have to eat food out of a rubbish bin or sleep under a bridge. I don't have to pretend that I forgot my glasses because I can't read and write, I don't have to suffer in pain without medication or worse, even die, because I can't afford health insurance. You see we are all grateful for what we do have but sometimes we forget to be grateful for what we don't have.
What are you grateful for today ?
