Thanksgiving
Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.
Henry Van Dyke
Thanksgiving
The past few weeks, God has taught me something incredible – something that I can truly appreciate and live in the moment of life with. This lesson has been gratitude. About a month ago, I was getting wildly stressed with work, training for my marathon next month, and studying for my personal trainer exam. I always felt as if I was behind, losing time, and never able to enjoy the moment. Looking to the future is a great thing and I believe it is necessary for us to know the end destination of where we are going, but not at the expense of our joy of today.
I saw this on a longer run of mine last Friday. As I was running, stressing about my time and if I was on pace or not, I passed a man who was doing yardwork near the end of his driveway. He was in a wheelchair. God reminded me, I am blessed to have my legs, and to have them in such condition that I can run, and even to the point that I can train for a marathon.
So much of life is perspective! Surely you have heard of the quote, “Life is what you make it.” Or, as James Allen has said, “As a man thinketh, so is he.”
What a gift to be able to look for the positive in everything! It is truly a gift that continues to give. Don’t get so wrapped up in what you don’t have – be thankful for what God has given you! Life, family, friends, work/career, gifts, hobbies, etc! I encourage you, make a list!
Jason Faulkner of Breakaway Frames shared an incredible and informative video with me that he found the other day. It is a great 7:14 duration watch that I pray will help you as much if not more than it has helped me! http://www.upworthy.com/scientists-discover-one-of-the-greatest-contributing-factors-to-happiness-youll-thank-me
As a followup to this post, I have had some of the best runs recently that I ever have had due to this new perspective! I’ve also been more at peace and happier in general 🙂
aubreyeicher 