Attitude, Attitude, Gratitude:)

I was in the grocery store the other day and I heard the cashier ask the woman checking out in front of me, "How are you today?"   The woman responded with a big smile on her face, "I am blessed and highly favored by a loving God!" in a very chipper and upbeat voice. I'll be honest with you, my first thought was oh brother, how annoying!  I caught myself and thought, hmmmm what's with that attitude?

Here was a woman who was very open and vocal about her faith in God. She had absolutly no problem sharing this with the cashier. I gave it some thought and I guess what rubbed me the wrong way was the idea of her wearing God on her sleave. When it comes to religious beliefs or your own personal relationship with God, I think that is a rather private matter. And that goes for non-believers as well - to each his own.

Then I started to wonder if this women's obvious strong faith in what she thinks of as God, was a game changer. What if I had such an unwavering faith in what I call God? Would my life be different, would I have more peace, would I have more gratitude for the little things in life?

A good friend of mine was recently dealing with several difficult situations in her life. It was a time when nothing was going her way, it was a very challenging time. As we were talking I was reminded by my Spirit Guides that during those tough times it's helpful to write a gratitude list.

We've all had those difficult times when when our lives seem to be out of control. Perhaps we've put a great deal of time and effort into a job or relationship only to have it fall apart despite our efforts. The job that was going so well is coming to an end or just when you're getting ahead financially your hit with a large expense you didn't see coming.

All of us have been in those situations where life just happens and the only thing we can control is the way we react to those events - a very tall order in many instances. A gratitude list can help you regain perspective over a difficult situation knowing that yes, things can always be worse. All you have to do is look around and see how tough many people's lives are.

My list includes having a roof over my head and it's not cardboard. Being able to function physically, having the use of my arms, legs, my eye site. These are gifts that many people don't have. I am grateful to be able to go to the grocery store to buy food, live in a clean comfortable home, have a nice bed to sleep in....not to mention all the wonderful people in my life. I am also grateful for the opportunity to do the work I do, to be of service to help, to have a purpose.

So even though that women in the grocery store was a little bit over the top, I am grateful that I was in the right place at the right time to hear what she had to say and to be reminded that yes, I am blessed and so are you.