Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.
`Denis Waitley
In the midst of great despair, at a time when I could find no light at the end of the dark tunnel that had become my complicated life, I discovered an amazing truth. No matter how dark, no matter how hopeless the world seemed, I could revive my state of happiness by focusing on gratitude and the people and things that I feel privileged and honored to have in my life.
I can be happy when I am grateful. No matter what circumstances befall me.
This morning as I sit alone in my silent home, coffee beside me as the sun peaks in the sky, I take the time to reflect on the joys of my life. Within the hour, I will rise from my meditations and I will start to prepare the stuffing for the Thanksgiving Turkey, and then the great bird itself and the rest of the meal. The table will be set with decorations and flowers and the family will come and this now silent home will be filled with the sounds of cheery conversation and children’s laughter.
I am grateful for this moment of peace as I begin this most precious of days. I am grateful for the family that will fill these walls soon. I hold family and friends to be among the most important gifts there could ever be, and in this area of life I have been abundantly blessed. When I think upon this one thing…my heart begins to overflow and I am welled up with more gratitude than my being can even hold.
I am grateful for the friends I have met here as I have made this pilgrimage into the on-line world of writing. A place I wasn’t even a part of at this time last year. I feel honored by so many helpful and kind friends who have lit the path for me and joined hands with me along the way. This community here and the others I have been a part of. Thank you for sharing this road with me.
I am grateful that in the midst of darkness in our world, I can still feel the hope. I can still look to the daily inspirations that come from everywhere if only we will seek them. They make themselves apparent and I can see, I can know, that somehow…somehow…life will turn out right.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It is a day to express what we should be feeling and paying attention to EVERY DAY. I celebrate this day of gratitude by renewing my pledge to live a life more grateful.
A life that celebrates the daily gifts I am given. A life that gives back- in word and deed- with a grateful heart for all that had been done for me and those I love.
I can never repay all the beauty and love that has graced my life, it’s impossible. The more I try, the more it rains down around me. I have come to understand that it is one of the secrets of living a grateful life.
The more you are grateful, the more you will have to be grateful for.
I am grateful for my life. For all the love in it, for all of the people in it, all of the beauty and art in it and the amazing power of God to show up in everything-if only we are looking.
Happy Thanksgiving.
What are you grateful for today?
You
That is beautiful Wendi! I love that idea that the more we are grateful for, the more we will have to be grateful for! That is so true, and I’m realizing it more and more each day.
I am thankful – first for my family, and my continuing strength and belief in the power of God in my life. I’m also thankful for all the friends I have, both off-line and on-line. You count amongst those who have blessed my life with your online presence – thank you Wendi! And, I’ve just found that so many people are full of good – and it gives me renewed hope in the light that is out there in our world today! We live in awesome times, and it’s because of the many great people that cross our paths each day.
Lance’s last blog post..Like a Thanksgiving Day Parade, Only Faster
Thanksgiving is wonderful. A holiday build around our gratitude. I am thankful for all the changes in my life this year, and for all the wonderful friends I’ve made. I’m grateful for a wonderful and supportive family, and I’m grateful for the courage to look the unknown between the eyes. Happy Thanksgiving, Wendi.
Writer Dad’s last blog post..Happy Thanksgiving!
I am grateful to be alive!
Just the other day, I was walking around with my family, and I felt so lucky to have them in my life, too.
What a beautiful post. You are lucky, indeed, Wendi!
Jewel/Pink Ink’s last blog post..The Wonder of Christmas
It’s nice to know others see hope when there is a world full of darkness. And, at a time when it’s so easy to forget to be grateful, it’s nice to know you found a way. We create our own happiness, and often it means going against the grain.
I’m reminded of the movie The Pursuit of Happyness (with Will Smith) With the right state of mind and never give up attitude, anything can happen.
Stacey Shipman’s last blog post..Giving Thanks at Thanksgiving and Beyond
Wendi,
Like your new digs. And so true about it being hardest to find something to be grateful for when times are hard yet i find that for me that is also when I most need to find those things to be grateful for as it can help to maintain a positive attitude through the rough times.
For me right now probably God’s faithfulness and the people He has put into my life (frienda and family) that support (not necessarily money in fact most of the time not money) and encourage me especially when things seem the most hopeless are what I’m grateful for.
Back in April when Men With Pens did a drive by for my blog Bibliophile’s Retreat you mentioned being a fellow booklover but having difficulty with reading due to the color scheme at the time.
I’ve since done some revising of the look and hopefully it is now much easier to read.
Drop me a note using the email link in my right side bar under meet the reviewer or leave a comment on the blog itself.
Melissa (ForstRose)’s last blog post..Beloved Captive by Kathleen Y’Barbo – My Review
That was absolutely beautiful Wendi. You know exactly how to capture things and put them into words, everyone should be so lucky to read them.
Jenny’s last blog post..Doing What’s Right
Thanks Wendi for dropping by Bibliophile’s Retreat. Glad you enjoyed it and found it to be more readable.
You’re welcome for the invite.
Melissa (ForstRose)’s last blog post..The Red Siren by M L Tyndall – My Review
It’s true, whenever the world darkens, you need only look into your heart and find the gratitude there and the light will rise from within. It sounds cheesy but it works and it’s real. There is so much to be grateful for; I try to take a few minutes out of each day to meditate on what I’m thankful for in my life and hopefully in the course of a year or two, I’ll be about halfway through the list 😉 Today you’re on the top of my list!
Melissa Donovan’s last blog post..How to Write a Novel
That was absolutely beautiful Wendi! I could read that 100 times. I too have been blessed beyond measure. Sometimes I catch myself complaining.and then I realize I have not been focused on my blessings. When I do focus on them I realize they truly are abundant and that is a place that I am trying to stay at in my life – constant gratitude, for I truly am blessed.
The more I live the more I realize that gratitude IS at the heart of all good things.
I’m most thankful for God and my relationship with Him, my husband, my family and friends, my dog and all my blogging friends.
I’m thankful for you Wendi and the light you shed.
Jennifer’s last blog post..A Simple Holiday and Life Hack
Hello everyone,
I have been having troubles with the site since I tried to upgrade! What was I thinking!
I am sorry to not be able to answer coments this week, but I am still working out the kinks of what I did!
Thank you to everyone for your generous gratitudes about LLI and myself. You are all so impotant to me!
Hopefully, I will get everything figured out soon so I can put in a new post!
Just know that I have read your comments and I’m still here!
I love this post and this quote. I believe happiness is the journey, not something that traveled to. I also believe gratitude is helping me deal with all the tragedies in the world.
Stacey / Create a Balance’s last blog post..Celebrate Your Life Friday!
I am grateful for you my friend!
Darren Daz Cox’s last blog post..Quantum Intent and Inspiration
Hi, Wendi,
Many days of computer “down time”, so playing catch-up here at Life’s Inspirations. . . . Loved this whole writing. It summed up the truths of Gratitude and Grateful Living. The art of being blessed over and over due to not just accepting the blessings but passing them on to others.
Hugs,
Ms. O
formerly Mickimeownow, now Pascalsrainbow@aol.com