Thought for the day

Too often we complain about what we do NOT have. That is the glass half empty syndrome, the pessimist’s theme song. Everything around us supports pessimism and is focused more on the negative than the positive. We thrive on that for some reason. A daily example of that is instead of reporting the  weather as a 70% chance that today is going to be a sunny day they report there’s a  30% chance of rain.   It’s crazy if you think about it.  People complain about running out of room in their fridge, their closets being too packed, their car being dirty, the gas bill is too high.  Isn’t that a good thing? Shouldn’t we see it as we have food to eat, clothes to wear, a car to drive and heat in the winter?  Well… I may not have too much food to eat because I am too lazy to go grocery shopping BUT I CAN buy groceries.  LOL…you get my point don’t you?

I think that when we adopt a grateful attitude and make it an everyday part of our lives, our whole demeanor changes. We begin to have a positive outlook on a daily basis. We are happier, healthier, and life takes on a different flavor.   It is no wonder the apostle Paul said things like “In all things give thanks, and I thank God every time I think of you (Philippines 1:3). I have gone through one thing after another in the last few years.  Serious stuff that most people don’t go through.  So I began remodeling my house to shift my focus.  In remodeling my house I began to see a lot of things about me.  I want a lot for a little, I have things that I don’t need and hold on to them for no good reason, I buy things just because I thought about it and I can, I hoard, I am impulsive, and I am wasteful.  Something I am not proud of.  On the flip side my generosity came through also, paying people more than they asked for on certain jobs when I knew they were under charging, giving my worker a new smart phone when his phone broke, ordering him business cards to give him a self-esteem boost, etc.   In 2013 I have to be more mindful to be thankful for the things I do have, (a roof over my head, a good job, reliable transportation); for the things that have gone right in my life and for the good people who I share my life with.  Sometimes I let that get away and I begin to focus on the wrong things because it really is easy to complain and take the negative approach.  My focus will be on being thankful AND to adopt thankfulness as a way of my life.  ” Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1Thes. 5:18).”

That is my thought for today.  I know it’s not about remodeling, just a thought I wanted to share from my heart to your eyes.  It started from a broadcast I saw where Suzie Orman said the new American Dream is to live below our means…I certainly don’t live above my means but what she said gave me a lot of food for thought!