Gratitude Challenge 5: The Home of the Brave

What are you grateful for today? It's high time we start asking ourselves this question daily, especially when we're feeling frustrated, exhausted, annoyed. Maybe you hit every red light possible on the way to the appointment you were running late for, but you have vehicle to get you from point a to point b. Or, maybe you forgot to plug your phone in and it died today, but you were forced to connect with another human being in the flesh.

My point is, if we choose to look for the silver lining in our every day annoyances we can find a lot of blessings. By committing to the 7 Day Positivity Challenge that @mariannewest kindly invited me to, I have had to sit down and really identify all these wonderful things I have been taking for granted. This world has become so filled with hatred that we can easily get swept away in negativity. Let's start a shift together and start sharing our blessings instead.

Beautiful Banff where the mountains are majestic.

If you've read any of my responses to the @sagescrub's #freedomchallenge posts, you'll know that I am not a fan of far-reaching government. We are inundated with the belief that we live in a free country and yet we are constantly asking for permission to live our lives. After filling out permit after permit, one starts to wonder why a free person is required to ask for permission for so many things?

Political correctness has also taken on a life of it's own to the point where we are being asked to waive our rights to freedom of speech at the risk of offending our neighbour. So, are we actually free or living an illusion?

However, if I am looking for the silver lining, I would have to admit that even though we often find ourselves jumping through hoops we are far less oppressed than other parts of the world. There are some countries where citizens don't even have access to land of there own which makes filling out paperwork seem a lot less arduous.

I am grateful to live in Canada.

Ok, so maybe I didn't start this particular gratitude on the most upbeat note, but in addition to today's gratitude I must admit I am also grateful for the ability to be a free-thinking individual. But let's set aside the imperfect parts because there is still a lot to be grateful for here. I love Canada.

I may complain about the fourth and longest season, winter, but how cool is it that I live in a place where I get to experience four seasons? The spring is cool and calm, with a promise of new life. The summers are hot, and flourishing, and always come with a few good thunderstorms. The fall bears harvests, a landscape of fiery colours, and the most amazing smells. The winter reminds us to be grateful of the other three seasons.

Ok, ok, the winter is pretty magical too and the tobogganing isn't bad either. The whole country is riddled with magnificent landscapes and adventures to to be had. Swimming, hiking, biking, fishing, skiing, climbing, canoeing, you name it, you can probably do it here. The land is fertile, the activities are plenty, and the scenery is gorgeous. Did I mention that I love Canada?

You've Been Nominated

@alaskahippie
@flemingfarm
@river-island

The rules:

• Write a post about something you have to be positive about today - this could be anything from being thankful for your current situation, someone being nice to you, being thankful for your friends and family, or even being thankful for the opportunity you have been given here on Steemit - just keep it positive :)
• Do this for 7 days in a row if you get nominated.
• Mention three people who should do this on each day.
• Tag it with #7daypositivitychallenge and include these rules at the bottom of your post Include a picture of something positive (related to your story if possible.)
• Tip: You need to put the # in front of 7daypositivitychallenge or it will not let you use the tag.

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