What do you appreciate?

Appreciate what you have before life teaches you to appreciate what you lost.

With all that is going on around us, it is important to maintain a sense of gratitude in everything we have and everything we do.  Just simple pleasures like going to the gym, the spa/salon/barber, even going to Target to buy stupid stuff, as one of my friends said the other day have been removed for many of us.  When we look at our lives with a sense of gratitude, our energy shifts to that of kindness, purpose, and positivity.

We are seeing a shift in what is now important in our lives.  Do you realize that the most important gifts we own are free.  We have been taught by the media and society to label what is important by the car we drive, the location of our home, the clothing we wear, the "job" we have.  We put the most value on the things we posses.  Ever thought about the last time you really wanted something, a new car, the handbag, that new fishing pole.  How do you feel now when you get behind the wheel, when you leave the house with the bag on your arm, or you catch that fish?  Do you still have a sense of gratitude for the item?  Read that again, and now think about it.  What is your answer?  

I can tell you having had my life come to a complete stop, I appreciate everything in my life and have nothing in my life including people that I do not love and adore.  This is what is happening to all of us right now.  The way of the world is really forcing many of us to reevaluate what is important and what we truly value and are grateful for!  

When was the last time you walked into your living room and said out loud, "good morning living room, I am grateful for another day to share with you?"  Or you open your eyes and you say "I am so happy and grateful to open my eyes and thank you for always exceeding my expectations?"  Imagine if there was no living room to wake up to or you did not even open your eyes?  Again, re read that!  We all have had friends and loved ones that did not get to experience another day.  

The gifts we all posses for free are our thoughts, health, imagination, attitude, and ability to overcome any situation. These are all free but yet the majority of us take all of them for granted.  Science has proven that we only use 10% of our brain capacity.  What if we were to engage the other 90%, what then?

As a society we are taught to accept what is and look at what is.  The reality is there is no disease, only health.  The reality is I am forced to stay home, but this is a new chance to reconnect with my friends and family.  The reality is my gym is now closed, but I have alternate ways to get my sweat on.  The reality is I have no toilet paper, but I have wash cloths or rags that can be washed.  See there is always another way to perceive a situation and always something to appreciate.

As I sit on my porch on this lovely 82 degree day in Phoenix, I am so profoundly grateful for my fingers to be able to type the words on my computer, for my thoughts, for my legs I have crossed on the table in front of me.  I am profoundly grateful for the sound of the wind chimes blowing in the breeze.  I am profoundly grateful for the sound of the birds waking up for another day.  The ability to drink my coffee from my favorite mug while I watch the hummingbirds feed from the food I have made for them  See, please don't misunderstand, I am grateful for my wonderful car, hand bag, and well, fishing pole if I were a fisherman, but the point is, I am grateful for everything. What are you grateful for?

Again, appreciate what you have before life teaches you to appreciate what you lost!~Shirene