Joyful, Joyful

“Today is the Lord has made let us be glad and thankful for it!”

Such are the moments in our lives when we must stop and ponder what we are grateful for!

Are you grateful today? What are you grateful for? What exactly is gratitude? Can we be grateful while struggling and in pain? Is being grateful helpful? Just a few questions to spark your thoughts today!

A good friend had a bicycling accident a few days ago and ended up with broken ribs and other contusions. He thought it would all heal fine, continued with his daily activity and though in pain, thought little else of it, just waiting to heal and ride again. Grateful he wasn’t hurt worse as in the last one, yes there have been others, he continued on. Then, at midnight a couple days ago, woke up not able to breathe, rushed to the ER by his scared to death wife, got admitted, and found out his broken rib had punctured a lung and was bleeding internally. Okay. So, now the scene had changed from gratitude to scared for his life as they inserted a drain tube to try and get his lung back to functioning. Scared wife, sister from another mother, could not be with him due to hospital restrictions and had to painfully wait, and wait, and wait for any information. Which brings about the subject for today.

We chatted nervously about how it could have been worse, how they got to the ER faster than the ambulance could, how he got admitted and tended to quickly. And yet, in times such as these, the missiles of ” could have beens” do not take away the pain and fear lurking in the background. The tiny flakes of gratitude do not take away the fear, but they do offer a sort of band-aid for the anxiety.

Anytime in life, when we wait, think or act in fear, (as I am highly acquainted with,) it takes a toll on our ability to see those bits of gratitude that are present. Our vision becomes of the past and future; the what-ifs and could-bes’ seem to seep into our thought process and water down the thankfulness we once soaked in. Our mind can race rampantly and before we know it we are on the proverbial hamster wheel of emotion, racing to nowhere, ending up where we were.

Gratitude and thankfulness on the other hand, can feel like a warm, soothing bath, complete with bubbles and smells of hope and goodness. It bathes our consciousness and soul with a sense that things are okay and the world is just fine for that moment. Gratitude toward the smallest things can change our mindset and literally alter our brain chemistry, that in effect stops the hamster wheel from turning. Thankfulness can offer a calming effect, noticing the things that are right and good vs those that aren’t as we might wish for.

So how do you find thankfulness in times of pain or anxiety? I usually pray or read, or talk to someone on the phone. I know some folks who keep thankfulness diaries daily, to remind them of the bigger picture of their lives. I believe this is especially important today and in these times as we traverse the societal changes, fears of illness and sorrow. We NEED to recognize what we are thankful for, if for nothing else, than our ultimate sanity. In the larger scheme of things I believe thankfulness offers us spiritual freedom, it affords us a closeness to our Creator who so perfectly put this life together. It allows us to connect on a higher level to who we are and what/who is really important in our lives.

So today, leave me a comment on your ways to offer gratitude and thanksgiving, Id love to hear from you!

Be safe and Blessings,

Tanny