Waking Up Thankful

There are some days in this crazy journey we call life that are just flat out more difficult than others.

There are times when it takes everything you have just to get up and fight through one more day. But on the days when I'm in more pain than I think I can bear, or i feel stuck or just overwhelmed, I stop.... I stop and start focusing on what I have to be thankful for from the smallest things we all too often take for granted, to the biggest. For example, I can see to type this blog post with my own two eyes. I am typing this on my mechanical keyboard with my own two hands and fingers. I may struggle to breathe off and on but I can breathe without the constant assistance of machines. Which most importantly means I'm alive!

I can hear, I can walk, I can hug, I have a home and food and two adorable puppies and a rock star of a husband. I could go on and on and on. Instead of focusing on what I've been through or what I'm going through, I focus on what I have that so many others in this world do not. What I found is that the more I focus on what I have to be thankful for the more i find to be thankful for. Being thankful and having a thankful mindset is contagious! Being negative sadly is just as contagious (maybe even more so).

I've learned that whatever you focus on is what becomes the current of your life. And that current will move everything in your life the direction of your thoughts. So with all the beautiful things still in this crazy life to be thankful for, why not focus on the good and just see what happens? Be thankful for everything, everyday and the path of your life will change. But remember lives are like ocean liners, it's gonna take a minute to turn it around.

If you've spent a long time focusing on the bad, on all the things you don't have, all the stuff you've had to go through and all the people who have hurt you, your thoughts will not change overnight. It does take some focus and some discipline. But in my experience it's worth it too see the happiness it brings. Sometimes the most amazing thing you can do in this life is just breathe! Don't wait for your best life to come to you, smile, focus on the good and go get it!

Bobbie De Leon