More on Gratitude

It's easy, too easy, to get wrapped up into what I don't have. To get wrapped up in what I can't do, can't have, don't have time for, and all those other things that can't be summed up into two words: "not enough

But, with a little bit of conscious effort, it's just as easy to remember what I do have. What I can do. What I do have time for. What is achievable. And when I can do more than remember those things, but appriciate them, that's being grateful.

It's really hard, though, to be grateful, to appriciate the sunshine or a good cup of coffee, when there isn't enough money to pay the bills. The sunshine and the coffee don't make it any better, don't make it any easier. Lately I've been asking myself why I even bother.

Don't be dismissive about this, now. It's an important question. Knowing the why helps you persevere even when it's hard.

So why? Why is it important to be grateful? Why should I be grateful for something when there's all this other stuff sowing malcontent?

Well, the first answer is the most obvious. Would you rather be smiling about how nice the warm morning sunlight feels, or agonizing about the sink full of dirty dishes? Well, smiling about the sunshine makes you feel happy, which would energize you, so you could do the dishes and enjoy it. But agonizing about the dishes would make you feel depressed and angry, which would zap all your energy away and accomplish nothing while making you miserable. The logical choice would be to choose gratitude.

In her book The Happiness Project, Gretchen talks about the benefits of gratitude: "...studies show that consistently grateful people are happier and more satisfied with their lives; they even feel more physically healthy and spend more time exercising. Gratitude brings freedom from envy because when you're grateful for what you have, you're not consumed with wanting something different or something more. That, in turn, makes it easier to live within your means and also be generous to others. Gratitude fosters forbearance - it's harder to feel dissapointed with someone when you're feeling grateful toward him or her. Gratitude also connects you to the natural world, because one of the easiest things to feel grateful for is the beauty of nature."

Again, I think I'd prefer being grateful.

What do you think? Is it better to be grateful, or is it unrealistic and not worth it?

Further reading:

• The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin
• Being More Grateful

Duty

"...But I refuse
'Cause I don't want to live like I don't care
I don't want to say another empty prayer
Oh, I refuse

To sit around and wait for someone else
To do what God has called me to do myself
Oh, I could choose
Not to move but I refuse..."

-I Refuse, Josh Wilson

It's impossible for me to really look at my life, to look at my friends lives, to look at this world and not see everything that's wrong with it. It's obvious. Children starving, dying. Countries without access to clean water. Rape. Child abuse. War. Disease. Famine. Mass extinction. Global warming. Natural disasters. Poverty. Opression. Torture. Medical experimentation.

The list goes on and on. And I find myself making a conscious effort every day to ignore it. To ignore all that's going on around me. If I don't ignore it, I'll drive myself nuts. Because my life is only making things worse. I'm not doing anything to help and the guilt is overwhelming. I could just continue to ignore it, carry on with my selfish life, but... I don't want to.

I want to leave the world a better place than when I came into it. I want my family to live in a better world. I don't want my friends to go through so much suffering. I don't want to hear the stories on the news every night.

I want a better world.

And more and more every day God's showing me that it is my duty, to Him, to my neighbor and to myself to do something to make it a better place.

Saying prayers is stupid when I have the power to change things. Yes, pray. But then when you're done go and do something, too. We are the body of Christ. Which means he acts through us. He could fix the whole world with a snap of His fingers if He wanted to. But he has called us to do it.

"Love your neighbor", "take pity on the poor", "sell all your belongings", "deny yourself and Follow me", "walk as He walked".... The scriptures are full of these callings.

And I'm done sitting around and not doing anything.

• I'm donating my birthday to charity water
• I'm volunteering at a local food bank
• I'm going to help at House to House (a bible study group through my church)
• I'm going to help my Church
• I'm going to live as simply as possible (AKA minimalism)
• I'm going to donate every penny I cannot live without
• I'm going to love and serve the people in my life to the best of my ability
• I'm not going to be shy talking about my amazing God anymore
• I'm going to talk about God, to my friends and family and their friends and family and everyone I can (loving someone is giving them eternal life, not letting them die), and bring as many of them to Church each Sunday I can
• I'm going to live with a greater respect for the environment (less processed foods, less waste, etc.)
• I'm going to spend as much of my time serving God as possible, because all of my life should revolve around Him, not just Sunday mornings

I'm done tiptoeing around propriety. I'm done being shy or scared to voice the Truth. I'm done lazing around and wasting my life. I'm done not doing what I know with all of my heart I was sent here to do - serve others.

I refuse to be the same. God's changed me and I need to show that. I need to let his light shine out.

I hope you'll do the same. Together, we can knock this world onto its knees before God, we can save so many lives. We can make big changes. We are the body of Christ and when we work alone we can accomplish big things. But when we work together we can accomplish amazing things.

If you would like to know more about Christ, feel free to email me at fred_the_goldfish@yahoo.com or comment on this post.

The Project:
Changing the World: Part One