A Moment for Gratitude

Keeping things in perspective. I felt myself dipping into the state of feeling sorry for myself. It always helps to stop and appreciate everything I have to be thankful for.

I've been having disagreements with my daughter about her attitude and the way she treats me and her brother. I watched @elsiekjay's video about losing her dog (hugs to you, sister). I asked my daughter, if I were to die today, is this the last interaction she would want with me? Would she want the words she had spoken to be the last words I heard from her?

At the same time, I'm internally asking myself the same questions. Remembering that tomorrow isn't promised.

I let her know that I love and care for her.

Just stop and appreciate

I'm getting better at snapping out of my ungrateful states. Being active on steemit has raised my awareness of my relative wealth and privilege. I don't need to enumerate them here. It only takes a moment to stop and appreciate. It always helps me to some degree.

Gratitude is not a substitute for the other mental health care I need. It does, however, start the shift to a better feeling direction when I start to get down about roadblocks and other frustrations in life.

It's the difference between, "these children are driving me crazy, why are small issues so hard for me to deal with?" and

These healthy children, who I love very much, are annoying me at the moment but I am so glad to have them in my life. I am so glad I got to wake up and see their faces this morning. I am so grateful that I can feed them when they're hungry, clothe them, and house them in a safe environment.

I'm not alone. I have help. I have support. I have resources. Nothing terribly bad has happened today. It's actually been a relatively good day.

If anyone reads this, I hope things are well for you. I hope you have something to be grateful for today. Thank you for taking a moment with me and for reading this post.