November: the month of cooler weather, giving thanks and unshaven men. It’s a good time of the year. The holiday spirit is being found in most homes and people are gearing up for all of the food and the family. I know this because of everyone’s Facebook statuses.
A few of my Facebook friends are doing the 30 days of thanks, thing. Some of them seem like they are already struggling (it’s only day 7). But some of them start my day all teary eyed with how sweet they are. I will admit, it doesn’t take a lot to get me emotional. I can’t even count how many times my siblings would say “you’re so sensitive!” It is true. I am sensitive. But their 7 (so far) days of thanks have made me get to thinking about what I am thankful for. There are so many people and blessings in my life. But I don’t want to just make a status about it everyday on facebook. I want to live a life of gratitude.
I saw this pin that said, “Cultivate an attitude of being grateful.” A light was turned on. Being appreciative isn’t just saying thank you or writing a note, a blog post, Facebook status, whatever. It is an attitude we can choose to have or not to have everyday. We can choose to have joy, or not.
So that is my newest goal for myself. Stop complaining, or to become aware of when I am complaining and what I am complaining about. I feel people, including myself, don’t event realize how often we complain. I don’t want to be bitter or a grouch. Sure, I am tired and irritable sometimes, and everyone is allowed to have bad days but I don’t want my attitude to lessen the greatness of my life. There is another quote that comes to mind, “you better check yourself before you wreck yourself”. Exactly what I am getting at here.
It is easy to say thank you. We all should do it and do it often. But we should also start each day with a grateful heart and let our attitudes be ones of gratitude. Complaining just takes away from the beauty of everyday and refocuses our attention on the negative parts.
So at the end of each day when I am saying my prayers and I thank God for all that he has given me, I will know that the day I was blessed with was not taken for granted. I lived it and did so joyfully.

Bye bye, negative nancy!

-Callie