Gratitude is the Best Attitude

I have this little book on my desk that says “Gratitude is the Best Attitude” on the front of it. It’s supposed to be a journal, but I don’t really use it for that. Recently, I moved desks and floors at work, and I had the opportunity to either keep the book on my desk, file it in a drawer, or take it home and find a new purpose for it. I had fully intended to take it home but, this move wasn’t expected, and it happened quickly. It wasn’t a bad move, just shuffling people around in our ever-growing company to make the most of the space we have, but it did cause some grumbling. As with any change, especially in a work environment where change can often be scary, people were worried about being in a new space, next to a new department, on a new floor. I was grumbling, too; I’ll admit it. Our department has had its share of ups and downs over the last few years so facing yet another change did wake up my anxiety quite a bit.

Anyway, back to the book. I decided to leave it on my desk. My new cubicle isn’t as large as my old one was, and I don’t have nearly the wall space I had before. As a result, I could not hang all my photos back up. I slid those photos inside the cover of the book, intending to take the whole thing home. Then I realized that I just put photos of people and animals who are very important to me inside a book that says “Gratitude is the Best Attitude” on it. It seemed a little, I don’t know, cathartic. Here was this little book that had, quite honestly, grown rather dusty. In it, I placed photos that I loved looking at every day but didn’t have room to hang. I am getting a little lump in my throat as I am typing this….

I know life is super hard, especially right now. There is just so much…STUFF. It’s overwhelming. It’s really hard to remember to be grateful when there is so much ugliness in the world, smacking us in the face every time we turn on the TV, open our social media, read an email, or even converse with people. This week is bringing even more STUFF, personal stuff, world stuff.

But I AM grateful. I am so grateful.

I am thankful for this little reminder: this little book with the big saying and the photos within.