Attitude of Gratitude

Hey, hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the holiday season. Couldn't believe it when I turned on the radio and the Christmas music was already playing. But oh well, I like it, so it's all good. Speaking of the holidays, we all know we just had Thanksgiving last Thursday, so of course I'm going to take this opportunity to talk about being thankful!

So I know the cheesy thing everyone always says on Thanksgiving is "Everyone should be Thankful like this all of the time." And it's obvious that people act more thankful for everything on Thanksgiving! All of the Instagram pictures and tweets make it obvious that something different happens in the end of November every year, but why? More than just the common joke, why aren't people more thankful for what they have every day of the year? I go to a great private school and am blessed with the ability to play the sport I love and be surrounded by great friends and an awesome family. Like most people, there are definitely days that I take all of those for granted. We live in a world where we always want the next best thing and never take the time to appreciate what we already have. Think about the Apple store in the mall anytime a new iPhone comes out. The line stretches around the entire mall, and I'm pretty sure that like five people at the most actually need a new phone.

Not appreciating things goes beyond just physical things too. Whenever last period rolls around and I have to walk down to the gym to workout, I always dread it. But wouldn't it be a lot easier for myself if I appreciated the fact that I am able to work out? Or the fact that when second semester starts, we have baseball practice pretty much every day for the next five months. I should be so thankful to be able to drive MY car to the beautiful field where we practice and play the sport that I love for the next three hours. If people across the world would focus on what they already have, the world would be a different place. People would be able to love each other without end, and no one would be disappointed when their gadget is a model year too old. I heard a quote once that said, "What if we woke up tomorrow with only the things we thanked God for today." That one hit me pretty hard. If I'm not thankful for everything that I have, why do I even deserve to have it? Some of the most cheerful people in the world are those people that have the least. Why in the world is this the case?! Why is it proven that, most of the time, a rich person who was once in poverty will give back more than a person who has never struggled? The one who was once poor knows what it's like to have nothing, and they do not take for granted the opportunity they have to help people who were once in their shoes.

Appreciating everything and not longing for what we don't have may be difficult at first, but when we take into mind everything that we as living people are blessed with, it's pretty easy to see that we have a lot more to be thankful for than we can ever know