Grateful by Choice

Today I am grateful for the lessons in humility that come our way, and the wisdom some other women in recovery shared with me on the topic recently. I also appreciate that choosing to be grateful is something I want to do today.

This quote got me thinking about such a choice:

"Gratefulness is a setting of the heart, one that I can choose like a wavelength on the radio." 
Susan Mazrolle

Wavelength is a word we hear less today. Setting has become more common, what with all the settings on our devices that we can change or need to update. Either word works here though. Where am I positioning my mindset as I start my day and then move through the minutes and hours?

Here is a piece written by Susan Mazrolle, the first line of which is the quote above, and found on gratefulness.org

Setting the Heart to Gratefulness

I really appreciated these words from the reading:

"Gratefulness can’t make pain go away. And maybe it’s not meant to. It can’t erase sorrow. Sorrows and joys are part of every life, just like there can be no “in” breath without the “out” breath.   Gratefulness makes the sorrows easier to bear, the joys more amazing. A grateful heart cries; a grateful heart laughs.  A grateful heart is open. Open to receive; open to give."

The author tells about a significant loss in her life early in the piece. We all have sorrows, pain. Living gratefully doesn't erase the trying times, it guides us through them. When joy returns, as it always will with a grateful heart, we experience it more deeply. 


Grateful living pulls me out of self-pity and impatience. Grateful living helps me be more compassionate and empathetic, allowing me to see other people's pain as well as their joy. If you think about it, both are an honor to witness. They are raw and genuine. They are what bring us fully alive. 

Choices surround us each day. I can choose to drink again, but it wouldn't be wise.

I can choose to let my gratitude practice slide. Also not wise.

The first could kill me, the second would deaden the life I still have.

Today I am grateful by choice. 

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