While we ate, we talked about what we were thankful for. I learned many of the girls give thanks every day through prayer as a part of their religious traditions (which seems like something I should practice more of myself). After eating, we were all (very) full so I suggested we play some games. It's interesting to me how even after my year here, I still have preconceived notions about what things I think the girls will or will not do. I had a few more physical "run around" games that I didn't think they would participate in, but those were the games which ended up being the most fun (and funny, especially when I was socked in the face by a flailing arm; this moment was so hilarious, the girls had tears from laughing so hard). During the day yesterday I had a few moments of profound gratitude. Gratitude for these new friends, for the opportunity to be here and doing the work I'm doing, for the laughter and shared hugs. I have much in my life to be thankful for.
As individuals, I think we can get lost in our complaints and caught up in our wants. I don't think there's anything wrong with either of those things per se. Our wants allow us to strive for something more and to pursue our goals in hopes of improving our lives. Complaining is normal, and if we're doing it right, it will be those complaints which lead us towards change. But it's also important to pause and recognize the (many) things we've been given; to stop, give thanks, and put our gratitude out into the world. If you're a person of faith, to God. I think in pausing to give thanks and in showing gratitude, we open ourselves up to a heightened sense of awareness into our blessings. In giving thanks, we open ourselves up to becoming happier and more fulfilled.
Gratitude allows us to see our lives more clearly and to find within ourselves a fortitude which perhaps we did not recognize. Gratitude humbles us and allows us to stop thinking about what our lives lack and allows us to see, instead, how much our lives contain. I'm not saying we stop shooting for the moon or striving to make our lives or ourselves better, but I think we should also seek to recognize the things we have and the traits we possess; the things which allow us to be who we are today and in this particular moment.
I've been thinking recently how much I have to be grateful for. How blessed I feel to have been given the opportunities I have (and to have been able to recognize and seize hold of them). How truly lucky I am to have the family and friends that I do and to be here in Azerbaijan meeting new members of my family and making new friendships. To have an able body and mind, food to eat and a roof over my head. I wanted to write this post to remind myself, in the times I overlook what I have to be grateful for or am, perhaps, a tad ungrateful, to pause and to give thanks.
And so I say, thank you.
Gratitude allows us to see our lives more clearly and to find within ourselves a fortitude which perhaps we did not recognize. Gratitude humbles us and allows us to stop thinking about what our lives lack and allows us to see, instead, how much our lives contain. I'm not saying we stop shooting for the moon or striving to make our lives or ourselves better, but I think we should also seek to recognize the things we have and the traits we possess; the things which allow us to be who we are today and in this particular moment.
I've been thinking recently how much I have to be grateful for. How blessed I feel to have been given the opportunities I have (and to have been able to recognize and seize hold of them). How truly lucky I am to have the family and friends that I do and to be here in Azerbaijan meeting new members of my family and making new friendships. To have an able body and mind, food to eat and a roof over my head. I wanted to write this post to remind myself, in the times I overlook what I have to be grateful for or am, perhaps, a tad ungrateful, to pause and to give thanks.
And so I say, thank you.
Good morning how are you?
ReplyDeleteMy name is Emilio, I am a Spanish boy and I live in a town near to Madrid. I am a very interested person in knowing things so different as the culture, the way of life of the inhabitants of our planet, the fauna, the flora, and the landscapes of all the countries of the world etc. in summary, I am a person that enjoys traveling, learning and respecting people's diversity from all over the world.
I would love to travel and meet in person all the aspects above mentioned, but unfortunately as this is very expensive and my purchasing power is quite small, so I devised a way to travel with the imagination in every corner of our planet. A few years ago I started a collection of letters addressed to me in which my goal was to get at least 1 letter from each country in the world. This modest goal is feasible to reach in the most part of countries, but unfortunately it’s impossible to achieve in other various territories for several reasons, either because they are countries at war, either because they are countries with extreme poverty or because for whatever reason the postal system is not functioning properly.
For all this I would ask you one small favour:
Would you be so kind as to send me a letter by traditional mail from Azerbaijan? I understand perfectly that you think that your blog is not the appropriate place to ask this, and even, is very probably that you ignore my letter, but I would call your attention to the difficulty involved in getting a letter from that country, and also I don’t know anyone neither where to write in Azerbaijan in order to increase my collection. a letter for me is like a little souvenir, like if I have had visited that territory with my imagination and at same time, the arrival of the letters from a country is a sign of peace and normality and a original way to promote a country in the world. My postal address is the following one:
Emilio Fernandez Esteban
Calle Valencia, 39
28903 Getafe (Madrid)
Spain
If you wish, you can visit my blog www.cartasenmibuzon.blogspot.com, where you can see the pictures of all the letters that I have received from whole World.
Finally I would like to thank the attention given to this letter, and whether you can help me or not, I send my best wishes for peace, health and happiness for you, your family and all your dear beings.
Yours Sincerely