In my view gratitude is still the greatest inspiration for happiness available to us today

Slow down…....You could miss something extra ordinary today.

Sometimes even when our schedule isn’t too full our minds can be running a marathon. We can be so swept up in thought that we are not tasting our food, listening well to the people around us or noticing the warmth in the sun.  When I do stop and take in the incredible detail in a day I am left in wonder. Why is it so beautiful, if we were meant to be ignoring it anyway?

If you speak to someone who has lost their sight, you will learn about what a gift it is to see the faces of your family and friends clearly. I have listen to a beautiful lady who lost her ability to taste her food. I remember how she spoke about her favourite milkshake. Imagine a world in which we couldn’t hear music or the birds. What about the millions of people who cannot protect themselves from the cold by standing near a warm heater or having a hot drink of tea?

We take so many thousands of things for granted when we get busy and caught up in thought. As cliché as it sounds, gratitude is still the greatest inspiration for happiness available to us today (in my view). Before I ask for more in my life I try to check in on how much I am appreciating all that I have.

I hope we as adults can find ways to inspire gratitude for the next generation. Most of the children I know live in a truly abundant time and we can barely think of what more to purchase for them when birthdays and Christmas comes around. Sadly unless they have the latest version of technology they can feel a lacking somehow.

I hear a discontent starting even in some young people with the competitiveness of social media and how much energy it takes to keep up. What happened to the lazy Sundays out in the garden, the tree climbing, the cubby building, the days when the house phone rang a couple of times a day and you had to walk to the library to complete your assignment.

When you can wind back your ‘wanting’ a beautiful sense of contentment arrives. When you can steady up your ‘striving to prove something’ an inspiring sense of wonder arrives. When your eyes open up and your taste buds tingle, the richness of aromas blossom and a gentle touch becomes the most precious part of the day…that’s when you know you are alive and on track…....that’s when you can start giving back rather than living in a constant state of wanting.