Gratitude

I felt a desire to write a little bit tonight but didn't find any drafts that I was particularly interested in at the moment so I thought I would share some thoughts on gratitude. 

10 years ago the current president and prophet of my church (Monson) gave a talk called An Attitude of Gratitude and I really like a couple paragraphs and would like to share: 

      "This is a wonderful time to be living here on earth. Our opportunities are limitless. While there are some things wrong in the world today, there are many things right, such as teachers who teach, ministers who minister, marriages that make it, parents who sacrifice, and friends who help.
     "We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues." ~Thomas S. Monson

I really like the idea of First World Problems in the sense that I can jokingly point out people focusing on the negative without hurting their feelings. There is so much to be grateful for but we're often trained to focus on the things that are wrong instead. How often do you hear '50% of marriages survive' instead of '50% of marriages end in divorce'? Just like someone who is 25% black or indian affiliates themselves with those races, we focus on the minority. There could be 95% right about a situation but the part we spend our time talking about is not praising that 95% but complaining about the other 5. 

Here are some of the 95% things (and much lower) in my life that I am grateful for:

-a car that runs, gets good gas mileage, and that I never have to worry about someone stealing
-the mouse I caught by hand in my living room and now get to watch instead of having to pull it out of a trap
-gray sweat pants that are the most comfortable article of clothing I've ever owned
-a cell phone to send out PG booty-call texts
-my family who makes me feel like I somehow fit in this crazy world
-my friends who tell me about my life as it is
-a college diploma that fills a spot on my bookcase and keeps the shelf dust-free
-hydrochloric acid that keeps me entertained when I'm walking along a boring limestone contact
-blackout curtains that make me sleep in until 10 and feel like I'm in WWII
-What's Your Number for unplanned nights when I need to believe in untraditional love
-PopTarts that offer me sugary carbs with little to no work required
-my camping gear that has never let me down, even on the coldest, wettest nights with the rockiest ground
-you. People reading my blog who answer my cry to the world that I need to be heard

Have a great Thanksgiving. 

Focus on the good percentages, even if they too are the minority. 

Today, tomorrows, always.