I think I resisted the whole “gratitude as a road to happiness” thing just because everyone was telling me to do it. I have an ingrown mistrust of any self-help writings or gurus. What could they possibly know that no one has known before? The answer is nothing, but maybe they can make it more relatable, or just remind us of some simple truths.
Gratitude is just a nice way to start your morning.
I’ve gotten into a bad habit over the past few years. I often think of my problems while I’’m in the shower, and when I’m drying off I’m silently yelling at the mirror at whoever I’ve got beef with, and when I’m walking the dogs I’m almost frothy with resentment. Over nothing. Over some fictional nonsense my imagination has come up with. And even if I wake up feeling fine, I’ve done it so many times that when I walk past a certain part of the sidewalk I’m triggered ( a word I despise) and my brain goes into irrational anger mode.
So, needless to say, I’m trying to change that.
This morning I saw my wife trying to begin her workout, and I saw Cookie refusing to stop licking her face. Cookie was very sweet about it, and my wife just kept gently pushing her back. And I found myself thinking, okay, that’s something to be grateful for. Let’s find something else tomorrow.
My phone came out a little too late to capture it, but something along these lines.