Thankfulness Thursday V

I am convinced that there are few things in life better for you than challenging yourself to chase gratitude.

Because let's be honest. When I say chase, I mean it. Sometimes, you have to quite literally sprint after gratitude, to push yourself to grasp it between your shaking fingers. When things get busy and stressful, when the overwhelm takes over, gratitude seems far off. But if there's one thing that chasing after gratitude will teach you, it's that it's always worth it.

Every November, as I write up these Thankfulness Thursday posts and send them out into the wild void that is the internet, I'm reminded of this. That, like love, gratitude isn't always going to be a feeling. You aren't always going to wake up first thing in the morning and be flooded with joy and thankfulness. You're going to get tired and you're going to dread the tasks in front of you and you're going to wish for nothing more than to bury yourself away for the rest of the month.

But you have the choice to do otherwise. 

You have the choice to decide that you're not going to let that inclination win. You have the choice to get up and face the tasks ahead of you not as things that you have to do, but as things that you get to do. You can dread getting up and going to school, or you can take a breath and simply be glad that you're physically able to do that. You can wish that you didn't have to go to that event, or you can be thankful for the friend that you're going to get to hug while you're there.

It's all a choice. 

Over the last few months, one of the most prominent reminders that I've had whirring around in my brain is how much completely minuscule crap that we complain about every single day. Everywhere I go, it seems that all I hear is the negative about people's lives, the tiny things of no value that they let ruin their day. I never hear about the good things, I just hear about how much they don't want to take that test or run that errand. And when I say ruin their day, I mean that. People let these things that quite frankly won't matter in a month suck any joy out of their day, and subsequently drain everyone around them.

And I get it. I really, truly do. I'm as guilty as anyone of seeing a friend and immediately venting about the current source of stress in my life. And I'm not saying that that's a bad thing at all. Friends are there for a reason. We need people in our lives who are there when we're overwhelmed or having a bad day or just need to rant. But why is it the norm for that to be all that we ever do?

I'm not saying to fake being fine; I'm not saying that at all. That's never healthy. But is dwelling in a sea of negativity healthy either?

We have to have a balance. We have to be able to acknowledge that hey, this thing is happening that I'm really not a fan of, and it's getting on my nerves - but it's also not the end of the world, and there's more to life than a task that I don't like.

There's such an infinite amount to be grateful for, even when there may not be a massive, joy filled blessing that you've been waiting and waiting for staring up at you. You have the choice to choose gratitude. That choice is something that no person and no circumstance can take away from you.

So friends, if you only take one thing away from Thankfulness Thursdays this year, let it be this - gratitude is a choice that will only make your life better. You have nothing to lose by choosing to be grateful. It doesn't cost anything except maybe taking a step back and chipping away a bit of pride. So as we go into December, into a month that can be magical or miserable, let that thought linger. Hold onto it. Grasp it between your shaking fingers.

There is so much to be thankful for.

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Thankfulness Thursday Friends ♥

Keira -- Close to Nothing

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Thanks for sticking around for another year of Thankfulness Thursdays, my beautiful friends. What are you thankful for?