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gratitude
REAL HEARTFELT Being grateful is to some just a catch phrase … a fad easily tossed around as a way to guide us on how to live better lives. But it’s not a fad, it’s real. TO M E , B E I N G G R AT E F U L I S that intense
warm,fuzzy feeling of overwhelming appreciation,happiness, and thankfulness that occurs when something wonderful has happened. It is the reason behind the joy and the uncontrollable smile that occurs when I am the recipient of some type of gift, tangible or not. Sometimes this feeling comes easily, and other times, not so much. When my day begins by parting the curtains to feel the warmth on my face from the brilliant yellow and orange of the morning peeking through the branches, and over the top of the wall of pine trees, feeling grateful comes easily. Whereas, when I am on I-77 and am abruptly cut off by someone, narrowly avoiding an accident, being grateful is a bit more challenging. That is, until I change my perspective and become grateful that no one was injured.
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Yet, one of the things in my life that I do not have to work at being grateful for is my freedom, for it is one of the cornerstones of my living with gratitude and embracing a constant state of appreciation for daily life … regardless of outcome.
For me, freedom has always been synonymous with the word American. I have a sense of security just because I was born in a certain place and at a certain time. I have the right to live wherever I want without worrying about any feuding people or communities. I have the right to come and go as I please and
say what I think needs to be said. I can determine how I want to live and express myself accordingly … I have the right to make choices. Every time I stand for our national anthem and the raspy words of “land of the free” pass my lips, tears often run down my cheeks … not ones of sadness, but ones of pride and, yes, of gratitude. Gratitude to those who fought to give us our inalienable rights. Gratitude to those who entered into service to protect our country at home and abroad—willing to give everything so others have choices, and yet they expect nothing in return. Gratitude to those I may never know, for a debt we can never repay. If that isn’t real, I don’t know what is. w
Ally Brown, CPC, is a Certified Professional Coach and awardwinning author of “Blast Radius: Shrapnel, shards and scars from the lies I lived.” Connect with Ally at 704.606.5050 or at www.ally-brown.com. WRITER Ally Brown