If you can't change your circumstances, change your attitude and make it an attitude of gratitude!

I can totally relate to that statement.  While in the grips of unemployment, a devastating divorce, and a serious health condition, my focus was totally on the 'negative' and not on the many blessings I was taking for granted.  Author and speaker Brian Tracy put it this way:  "Develop an attitude of gratitude and...most of all...give thanks!"

William A. Ward put it this way:  "God gave you a gift of 86 thousand 400 seconds today.  Have you used one to say 'thank you?'"

When I started to thank God for the positives in my life---my mental and emotional outlook underwent a complete transformation.  The positive mindset had an immediate impact on my relationships.  No doubt about it! Positive people attract each other.  If you are a complainer, you can easily find others to validate you in your misery.  But, if you display a positive outlook, you will attract positive people.

It's been proven---research shows gratitude is beneficial to your health.  The Bible says it best:  "Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything. by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants know to God."

The bottom line is this: Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to charity.  It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.  Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a sense for tomorrow.

For I Love Life, I'm Jerry Dahmen

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