Gratitude is Everything

A year holds so very much in it. For some it is endless change. That change can be grand, wonderful things or it can be devastating loss. For others the year stretched long in sameness and not the changes they might have wished. But throughout the rollercoasters and monotony, there is one thing everyone can do in their ride through life. We can choose gratitude.

I used to serve elderly people in a care facility and still remember the faces coming to the dining table. What was the difference behind the smiling eyes in one seat and the wrinkled frown in the other?  They deliberately chose an attitude of gratitude, even in the smallest of things. I remember the excited exclamation “Oh boy! We’re having mashed potatoes!” Mashed potatoes. I had thought. What’s so special about those? But I have since learned that you can celebrate the little things even when the big things fall apart. There is something in everything to be glad about, you just have to look a little harder sometimes. I’m so thankful for this woman who enjoyed richly, fully, sharing a bowl of mashed potatoes because in that she shared something deeper.