Gratitude

 

There is a saying from the 1940s, “Accentuate the positive; Eliminate the negative. Latch on to the affirmative; Don’t mess with Mr. In-between”. I think so much in life right now is focusing on the negative. It makes life hard somedays. This quote makes us look for the good among the bad and focus on that. I know that if we do this it will not only change our life but those we come in contact with. There is a saying that is, “Be the good in the world”. Part of that is seeing the good and pointing it out. President Thomas S. Monson has a talk about having and “Attitude of Gratitude”. What does that even mean? It means to be grateful for everything that we have. Even though there is bad it is up to us to find the good. President Monson tells us, “We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts and attitude of gratitude”.

With the Christmas season upon us this idea is one that can only make our season better. It is one that we can adapt throughout the whole year. This attitude of gratitude can change our lives. It is one that will bring peace, happiness, and love that can penetrate even the hardest heart. We have heard and I think we know that we are more blessed to give than to receive. So, as we celebrate the Christmas season this year, let us look for the good in others and the good that is happening around us. Let us spotlight that and drive the negative from our lives. Then, let’s see if we can take it into and through the new year. Can you imagine the possibilities?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Makes You Successful?

 This week I read an article about Randy Pausch. He was a successful professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Randy was someone who didn't give up. Even if he was told he couldn't, he found a way around that. In this article, Randy had been given a terminal diagnosis with Pancreatic Cancer and had only another 11 months to live. That didn't stop him. Instead of being home and sinking into despair because his life was ending, he was out teaching others how to achieve their dreams. I think this is at the heart of what made Randy achieve so many of his goals. One of my favorite quotes I read from him this week was, "Wait long enough and people will impress you". Most of the time I have found this true. Randy to me was an optimist. He may not have achieved all of his goals, but he didn't let failure stop him.  I have thought a lot about that this week. I am one who shies away from failure, but I need to learn to embrace it and learn fro...
Read more

Self-Mastery

  Being human, we have the tendencies to do what we feel like doing. For example, I am in school and am taking a full load. There are some days that all I want to do is sit around and watch my “shows”. When I submit to these desires it creates stress later in the week. I don’t have the time to do what needs to be done for my assignments or have the time I want to spend with my family. I read a talk from President N. Eldon Tanner, from the April 1975 general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, titled, “Success is Gauged by Self-Master”. He was speaking to all the men of the Church during this talk, but each of us can learn from the thoughts he shared. What does self-mastery have to do with success? Plato said, “The first and best victory is to conquer self; to be conquered by self is, of all things, the most shameful and vile”. If we can’t master our own desires or emotions, how will we ever get real control of our own lives? President Tanner shared two ...
Read more