On a recent 8 hour drive from California to Oregon, I found myself in deep thought about numerous people I have met over the years who, for lack of a better word, are miserable. Plain and simple... they are miserable. They seem to be hating life. Every word, action and reaction is about how tough and unfair things are.
What's amazing is for outward appearances, it would seem they haven't much to be unhappy about, but regardless of outward circumstances, they will usually find something to complain about.
Like many people, I find it is often very difficult to be around people who are perpetual complainers. Those whose favorite line seems to be, "But you just don't understand."
Granted, there are going to be circumstances in which life can be very, very tough. And yet, there are some people who, just the opposite of lifelong complainers, seem to take life in stride.
This doesn't mean they don't have times when they are not feeling like "Miss Suzy Sunshine", but it does mean they handle life's happenings in a completely different way.
I suppose you can say I feel I have an inside track on the life of the complainer. Years ago, I was one of those never ending complainers. It didn't matter what was happening, I could find something wrong. The more I complained, the worse things got.
I had the good fortune to meet a woman who basically pulled my covers on my attitude. Of course, at the time, I certainly didn't think I was blessed to have someone who called me on my stuff. As a matter of fact, I downright resented someone telling me the things this woman so boldly shared about why my life sucked.
It was during a time when my world seemed to be falling apart I first met her. I had gone through a very rough divorce, had made some very bad financial decisions to the point I was wiped out financially, continued to make more bad choices until one day I found myself penniless, homeless and friendless.
How tough life had gotten. That is until my surprising angel told me much of my current circumstances had more to do with my attitude than anything else. This was many decades ago.
She was the first person who said, "Your thoughts create your reality on so many levels." Wow! My first lesson in the Law of Attraction.
Since that time, my life has drastically changed. It certainly didn't happen overnight, but day by day, things got better. And it didn't happen by hoping things would change. There were things I had to be willing to do, not do, embrace and give up in order for things to change.
Of course, being a person of habit (as we all seem to be), there were times when being happy and joyful was just a bit much for me to handle. So, I would conveniently do something to sabotage my new life direction.
Looking back, I can see how there were so many things that needed to happen to get to a place that regardless of the outward circumstances, one can still be happy and joyful. Does this mean we get to a point that we are literally bouncing off the walls every minute of every day?
Absolutely not. What it does mean is there are choices we make that will allow us to either feel despair or hope. Simple as that.
It is in the day by day choices our life is created. It is in the day by day choices, our happiness unfolds. It is in the day by day choices we design our life or we let life design us.
One of the most important choices I have learned to apply on a daily basis is that no matter what is going on, to find something to be grateful for in the situation. Although very simple, it is not always easy. And yet, with daily practice, it becomes almost second nature.
So what choice do you make today? Do you choose to see what you have to be grateful for or do you choose to not see your blessings?
If you are reading this, it is likely you are one who is more focused on blessings than not. And I am grateful you have taken a peek inside my thoughts.
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