Sometimes I think I would benefit from getting out of my own head and checking in with the real world. Being present certainly has a lot of upsides. It would help with those niggling feelings that I am ‘missing out’ or that ‘other people are doing cooler/better/more things than me’. Blah blah , whinge whinge. Those feelings are not fun, and more important than that, they are particularly lame and pointless. And they take away from the goodness which is my life. And I am not going to allow this to continue, because my life is too precious.
If you think about it really hard (or sometimes it can come to you very quickly), I’m sure you could think of someone or something that you could appreciate more. Perhaps it is a family member or a close friend, doing small favours or acts of love that you haven’t noticed or have taken for granted. Or maybe it is your current situation, filled with goodness, love and success (however you define it) for which you could be more thankful and understand in relation to the bigger picture of our world. It is easy to forget that there are a lot of people on this planet, with different hopes, dreams and ambitions, but they are real. And instead of comparing ourselves to them, we could just sit with this knowledge and let it make us a little wiser and lot more humble.
I have been guilty of ungratefulness, particularly recently. Some big things have been going on in my life, yet I have been focusing on the tiniest (and sometimes imaginary) problems instead of appreciating the things I do have. I think sometimes we like to make things harder, perhaps because we are scared to let ourselves be truly happy, or maybe because it is easier to play the victim than to be the bigger person. I have done it, but I am sick of it. I know too much to let my mind get in the way of all the good in my life. Perception is reality, so I am going to choose to have an awesome one.
It is important to care about one another, but it is also crucial not to let others dictate your life. Certain rules or ideas you may have about the ‘perfect life’ may be imaginary limitations created in your own mind. Things such as how your partner should be, what you should do or how you should act, for instance, come down to you. Comparing yourself to others is a game you will never win, and one that will sour your experiences right now. You decide, because it is your life.
So what are you grateful for?