GRATITUDE MONTH: DAY 28: “If gratitude is the parent of all virtues (Cicero) and necessity is the mother of invention (Plato), could being grateful in times of need help you be inventive enough to receive everything you want?” ― Richie Norton
My deepest gratitude practice has always been when things are seemingly tough for me. When I look back on my life, those were the times when Universal Power was granting me the largest gifts and lessons. I don’t always enjoy growth; at least historically.
Today I recognize the problem with my growth-ful times as being those times when pain was created by my resistance to the growth, my resistance to the situations going on. Gratitude practice is what got me through those times without whining and complaining all the time. That is so unnerving to be around.
I have heard this in addicts for forever. I grew up with active addicts all around me. They were always complaining about their lives and all the situations they found themselves in. I learned to do this from the gate.
Finding a gratitude practice was in direct opposition to everything I had ever known or done. And yet, it is THE most important factor in my recovery. Gratitude allows me to learn acceptance and appreciation for things I don’t necessarily like or want. That is how life presents itself to Ego. In ways that do not match our desires and demands for what we want.
And learning to not only accept these things, but to learn to appreciate them and see the perfection of these gifts from Universal Power has allowed me to learn to accept, appreciate, and love life…no matter what.
Recovery is learning to be happy. Period. If that could be accomplished by just not drinking or using drugs, more people would be happy. But their inability to work through their shit is the reason so few are happy. Ego has to be smashed. It is so simple, yet most will take many, many years to find that out in significant ways. Too bad. Life is a lot more fun being happy, joyous, and free.
Dolphin Hug 