The Work at Home Millionaire Journey

Gratitude is great.  Most people completely underestimate the power of it.  Not me.  I start everyday thinking about all the things in my life that are great.  A lot of times it’s the same things.  But I always try to put a new twist on why I’m grateful.

I always start with my kids.  Not consciously, but because I think about my kids all the time.  Instead of just being grateful for their existence, I think about what they’ve done the previous day.  Maybe I’m grateful that my 2-year-old walked on the balance beam all by himself.  Because there was a time no one was sure he’d walk at all.

Gratitude comes pretty easily and naturally to me.  Like most things, you get better at it with practice.  And, I happen to have a lot to be grateful for.

Last week, however, I found myself doubting just how good I am at this gratitude thing.

I got something in my eyes while I was outside gardening.  No big deal.  Until three days later when I could barely see and my eyes burned so bad I couldn’t open them.

Let’s see . . . I spend 4-5 hours a day on my computer.  I spend a good part of my day driving my kids to their activities, and returning all my phone calls as I drive.  At night, I drive to the gym for a stress-relieving workout.

All of these things were suddenly really hard, if not impossible.  For a fleeting moment I actually thought this would be okay.  I could just take a little time off.  Watch some mindless tv, get caught up on my reading.  I laughed at myself when I realized that I contemplated doing these things before it occured to me that I’d need my eyes!

As you probably guessed, I’ve spent a lot of time giving gratitude for my eyesight over the last few days.  This is not the first time I’ve given gratitude for something we tend to take for granted everyday.  I often appreciate that I have the ability to read something, to walk somewhere, to live in freedom.

But I must admit, I have a new appreciation for my vision.  And it makes me wonder, can I ever really be grateful for the ability to walk without knowing what it is not to be able to walk?  I mean, of course, I can say the words, but am I fooling myself into thinking that I’m really having gratitude, and even know how to be grateful, for things I’ve never been without?

I don’t have an answer to this today.  But it has called to my mind the fact that you shouldn’t judge a man unless you’ve walked a mile in his shoes.  Which is a different lesson, I realize.  But it’s always worth remembering that truly you don’t know why anyone does or doesn’t do anything unless you’re that person.  Which is much easier to say than it is to put into practice in our daily lives.

JENNIFER HERNDON works at home with her kids.  She has been enjoying the time freedom and financial rewards of working at home for over 11 years.  Jennifer’s passion is empowering you to achieve success through a positive mindset and consistent action.  Discover the Seven Simple Success Steps for free in Jennifer’s new mini-course.

Filed under: attitude, gratitude, self improvement on June 7th, 2009