Bogged Or Buoyed

No matter how grim we perceive our circumstances to be, there’s always something for which to be thankful.

In fact an attitude of gratitude could be one of the most overlooked of survival tools. It’s not what life hands to us that matters, it’s what we do with what we have. Every one is an individual. How we react, the way we think and our general attitude help define us.

Self-definition is the most personal of processes. It’s also essential. We need definition before we can move to acceptance, from acceptance to understanding and from understanding to loving. We have to fully know and appreciate ourselves before we can ever hope to fully know and appreciate those around us.

There is so much that is beyond our control, outside our sphere of influence.  So many of the battles we wage in a bid to force change in the personalities and attitudes of our circle of family, friends and acquaintances, for example, are exhausting and ultimately futile. We can find ourselves physically debilitated and emotionally drained for no discernable positive result. The sooner we come to terms with that, the better and more complete our lives will be.

There’s a danger that, in concentrating on all the negative things that we encounter in any given day, week or year we will overlook the positive. We can allow the bad to overshadow the good. We can become bogged in the bleak. Alternatively we can be buoyed by the bright. It’s our choice. No-one can do it for us. It’s all to do with our chosen perception and that’s linked back into self-definition.

It’s not difficult to ignore the many things that we should appreciate if that’s the way we want to be. In fact, at times, it may take effort to foster that attitude of gratitude. But the more we do it, the easier it comes. And the easier it becomes the brighter and more fulfilling our lives will be.