Ingratitude

Today I am grateful for the recovery wisdom I have been taught by others that I can draw from regularly. I am also grateful for the ease of electricity and simply flipping switches to light up the early morning hours.

I used the word ingratitude the other day, and it came to my mind again last evening as I pondered today's post. It came to my mind because I was feeling it. It's been that kind of a week . . . nothing in particular, but I have slipped too quickly into old thought patterns of the "poor Lisa" variety. The ingratitude tends to hit when I am tired. I know this about myself and cut myself some slack.

Ingratitude. Lacking appreciation. Ungrateful. Yep. That's how I felt. It didn't last though. The downward spiral never got going. The pity party had no guests. It was temporary and short-lived.

Temporary and short-lived because years of gratitude practice have changed my default mode from self-pity to appreciating the life I get each day, from focusing on what I don't have but wish I did, to seeing the gifts I have already been blessed with.

To borrow from my blog profile:

A recovering alcoholic since 1989 and a breast cancer survivor since 2008, I work daily at my recovery from both of these life challenges. But I also work daily at living life to the fullest. Gratitude is a significant part of that work. It is the best work I do, because the dividends are consistently positive. I am prone to self-pity and fear, so faith and gratitude are good antidotes. I firmly believe in the active practice of gratitude. It has worked for me for over 18 years.

Sometimes I am the one who needs the reminder. Each day is a gift. Treat it as one.

Comments

  1. As a fellow gratitude pilgrim, I know what you mean Lisa. I've been told that there is a reason we do the work we do... we need it more than anyone else. When I feel the ingratitude or pity party coming on, I find talking about it with others is like an instant antidote... an elixir of sorts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is always nice to hear from you Steve, and I appreciate "fellow gratitude pilgrims" who inspire me. I love the word antidote to describe gratitude practice. That is absolutely what it is for me. It works because it gets me out of myself. Let's keep working! Thanks!

      Delete

Post a Comment