Small Things

Throughout any given day, we experience many things that don't go our way, annoy us or somehow just don't turn out as we'd like. Some days, finding even a little gratitude in our heart seems impossible. For me, I often set the bar of my expectations so high, I am asking for disappointment.
I just finished reading one man's list of ten things he is grateful for and, to my surprise, they were pretty small things. He listed things like, "Be grateful you are sitting in traffic because it means you have a car and a way to get where you need to go." Now that puts quite a different spin on a very unpleasant situation. After all, nobody likes to be stuck in traffic. It can be very frustrating. His take on it, however, reminds me, once again, about perspective. He also listed that he was grateful for getting old. After all, it means he is still alive and able to experience life. He chose to discount the wrinkles and aches and pains and be happy he was still here to feel at all. We really do have the ability to see each situation how we want to see it. Even if the positive, grateful side is not the first way we see it, we can adjust our attitude and still find some good. It takes practice.
Next time I am stuck in traffic, I am going to remember this. The wrinkles may take a little longer to be grateful for, however!
I am grateful for small things.