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Under the
Docks - © Paul Gitmark, Photographer
We usually
think of gifts as being given and received on special occasions --
birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, baby-showers, Christmas, etc.
Yet, each
day, life brings us amazing gifts, as well as small, simple, yet
awesome ones.
Of course there's the "amazing ones" like the
sun rising each day,
the gift
of life each morning when we awake, and the miracle of our body
and mind
functioning as a "well-oiled machine".
But
there's also the small gifts: finding a parking spot right in front
of the building
where
you're going on a busy day, finding the perfect card for that
special friend,
having
someone give you a compliment, receiving a letter, email,
or phone
call from a friend you haven't heard from in ages,
taking the
time to sit in the sun and smell the roses!
All of
these are gifts that are there "for the appreciating" each and every
day.
The wonderful thing about being grateful for the gifts
in life
is that
you feel so good when you're in a state of appreciation and
gratitude.
It's hard
to be grumpy and depressed when you're noticing the wonderful things
that are
showing up in your life.
And of
course, the greatest blessing in that scenario is since "like
attracts like",
the more
you express and feel gratitude and joy for those blessings and
gifts,
the more
they keep coming!
It's a
wonderful circle!
Gratitude
begets gratitude, joy begets joy, and blessings beget
blessings.
Marie T.
Russell
Excerpted
from
Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the
Inside Out
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