Amazing


I have a friend. Let's call her "Felicia." She says amazing a lot. Well, she did for a while in her Facebook posts. I'm not sure if she realized this. I imagine she understands what the word means and the intensity it beckons. So many things are amazing---it's amazing.

 And while I may be "kidding around" about this, it's nice to see someone who is being appreciative. Too many times, I see the opposite. Humans can be so ridiculous. Get something for free, unearned and undeserved? Complaints. Have a better life than 75% of the people on the planet? There will still be loads of complaints. You just wait.

I know it's not always easy to stay positive, but some people just don't want to be or don't know how to be happy. Some people don't understand what they do have. We all take something for granted at some point. We are influenced by the people we are around. If those people are negative, then we are susceptible to catching that negativity and spreading it. Maybe YOU are the one infecting everyone else? Maybe YOU are patient zero.

When we realize we aren't owed anything, we can begin to appreciate everything. Life itself is enough to be grateful for. The ability to participate in and experience something so rare within the universe (that we know of so far) should be enough. Everything else is extra and not necessary, beyond survival, of course.

Say please, thank you, you're welcome, and all of those other polite things. If you don't at all, start. If you do already, take a moment to think on what you're actually saying. Don't just make it a thoughtless reaction. You may find gratitude taking over your life, and it's a wonderful thing.

Do you wake up every morning grateful you have, in the least, one more day to live? Perhaps your life would be different, the world would be different, if we didn't take for granted this simple thing? The simple things are the most important, I've heard, and it's hard to disagree with. Remind yourself of this every morning as soon as you wake up. See if your days begin to change for the better.

Now let's look quickly at the flip side. Complaining and getting upset are natural and necessary. Don't let anyone tell you differently. But, take an honest look at what the results are. Does something positive and meaningful come from it? When something upsets you, it's your brain telling you that something isn't right. You should listen. You should stand up for what you believe is right. You should be grateful for the opportunity to do so.

This also doesn't mean we can't strive for more. We can work hard and hope for better. We can desire having a new thing-a-ma-jig and make grand plans for our life to come. This in itself does not take away from gratitude. Appreciating your life before hand makes your achievements so much more rich and gratifying. It's a loop that expands with every revolution.

Perhaps the key to a happy and satisfying life is gratitude. I can get behind that. It's a transformative concept, and it's hard to deny its power. I know I want to live in a grateful world, and it's the kind of person I strive to be. Maybe if everyone had that same attitude and we all were a little more grateful, it would be amazing.

I recommend TED Talks in general, but here's one on gratitude.

David Steindl-Rast: Want to be happy? Be grateful




*   *   *

Join me on Facebook!
I've recently started a page for THIS blog, Graham Sedam Writes, where I will be sharing all of my writing related endeavors and stuff.


Graham Sedam, blog, thoughts, life, interests, writing
Did you like this post?
Please comment and share!

Tired of missing new posts?
Want to receive posts directly to email?
Subscribe to Graham Sedam Writes
Unsubscribe at any time.
No funny business! I promise.

Thank you for your time!


Did you know that I also have a daily blog, Notes.gs?



Popular posts from this blog

Resolutions = Revolutions: 2019 Goals

Image
I feel like I had a pretty good 2018. I set goals. I experimented with them. I accomplished much. Now that it’s the beginning of 2019, I feel as though I have a clean slate. I have the opportunity to build, maintain, and reframe what’s important to me and where I see the gaps in my ambitions are. Of course, every day is an uphill battle. I am not wealthy nor without the need to work a “day job.” I have a wife and kids, and they have their own needs and desires, which often conflict with my own. Every day requires effort. That’s not to say that some days don’t happen to work out and go smoothly. For the most part, there is no natural smoothness. It takes energy, effort, and a clear understanding of objectives and priorities. Even though I feel I have a clean slate, I still want to carry over goals or aspects of goals to 2019. I’ll surely re-evaluate as I go, but I need a direction to start in. I learned plenty from last year, some of which I go into in the wrap-up post for my 2018
Read more

The R&D Workshop No.11

Image
The Office Introductory Post I’ve talked about writing this post for what feels like months. It has likely only been about two months at the most. I am not writing this post as an explanation to justify my choice to rent an office—which is really just a room in an office building—or to portray myself in a way that doesn't reflect reality, or in order to gain favor with whatever your feelings are towards me. I write this post to share my thoughts about going into such an endeavor and to hint at what that general endeavor is. I write this, in part, because that is what this feature to my blog is about, and I’m excited about this change within my life. I’m hoping it’s a big step in the direction I want to go. When it comes down to it, I am renting an office to have a place outside of my house to work in peace and quiet. I tried the library once, and it wasn’t as quiet or peaceful as I thought it would be. I don’t have any interest in hanging out at a coffee shop, as I don’t thi
Read more

Put The Music On Hold, It's Summer

Image
For the past three summers, I have abandoned any hope of being able to work on music in my makeshift home studio. To be fair, the first of those three summers was after I got engaged and had just recently bought a house. So, there was the whole moving and "getting settled" into our new home, and planning and preparing for our late September wedding that just so happened to be at our newly acquired house. Fortunately, the house was a flip, so we didn't have a lot to do inside. There was no "flip" on the outside, and we knew we wanted the ceremony to take place in the back yard. We basically gutted the back yard and created a clean slate to work with going forward. It did look nice with its new sod and openness. We could have spent money on venues, or we could use it to pay for home and yard improvements. Option two won easily. Everything went but the trees. The next two summers had their own projects and activities. The nice weather just screams, &q
Read more