Day Twenty Nine | 31 Days of Thanksgiving
“Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes of which all men have some.” — Charles Dickens
A few days ago, I shared that I was thankful for the trials in my life. Yesterday, I shared my routine in recognizing and acknowledging those things for which I need to be thankful.
Today, I simply must relay a story about how both the trial and the routine came together recently.
The Trial…
Ever have a big dream that you *know* you have it in you to achieve? Ever been told, repeatedly, that you could make that dream a reality?
Yeah, I’ve got one of those dreams. The problem for me is not that I don’t have the ability, talent or skill set. You see, making this dream come true requires something that I was not willing to acknowledge. I thought that I had all I needed, within me, to accomplish this monumental task to achieve my dream.
And boy did I try. Yet every move or decision that I made simply fell flat! On paper, every decision agonized over, every step of forward, progress SHOULD have resulted in me getting that next step closer to my dream. Instead, I found myself moving sideways and getting sidetracked by purposeless, yet needed activities.
I thought that I had all I needed to make my dream a reality. <– Do you see what I was focused on? Four references to me…
It has taken me a few years to see that, while I do possess all that I need to make my dream come true, I also need to stop believing that I need to be so self-sufficient. In fact, I was *very* proud of my self-sufficiency. I had pounded my head on that brick wall for so long, it has become a comfort.
The Routine…
A wise person in my life once said,
You can choose to live in community or you can choose to live in solitude. One is filled with heart-ache, joy, laughter and tears. The other, security.
I was attempting to live life in solitude by being so singularly focused on being self-sufficient. Don’t get me wrong, being self-sufficiency has its place. My self-sufficiency had turned into a prideful stance.
It was at the bottom, when I didn’t believe the dream could even be a reality, that Routine found me. Routine came in the shape of simply being grateful, intentionally, for the life I have been given. Every day begins with my attempt at recognizing all for which I should be thankful. Part of this attempt is the journaling I mentioned previously.
As I began to detail those things for which I was and should be grateful, my attitude shifted. Instead of being solely focused on those things that I didn’t have, I became content (not complacent). A funny thing happened on the way to contentment, my dream began to come true!
A couple years into this routine of gratitude and thankfulness and I will admit that it has become much easier to see the silver lining in every day living.
[Here's the link to all of the 31 Days of Thanksgiving posts.]
[photo credit]
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