Yesterday, I talked about stopping to see the happiness that we already possess. Today is a new day.
It's crazy to think about, but for the first time in maybe 4 years I finally have a steady and reliable internet connection. That's insane. College dorm internet sucks. My internet sucked when I moved into an apartment with friends. When I briefly moved back home after college the internet sucked. When I moved to Japan my apartment came with internet (AND IT SUCKED). Now, I've chosen my internet service and pay for it independently, and it's amazing. I play League of Legends and it's a blessing to have a consistent ping (connection smoothness) and not lagging all of the time (imagine trying to explain that to someone from 100 years ago who's never seen the internet) is amazing.
I don't have loud neighbors (though the walls are thin and I can hear the cars driving by at night. Ambulances be damned...), I live in a safe environment, and it's extremely convenient. I have a job that pays enough to cover the bills and live comfortably, I enjoy my work, and I'm surrounded by positive and growth-oriented people at work. I don't have any disabilities, I have a girlfriend to share my life with, and I'm in good physical and mental shape. I'm alive and I have toothpaste.
I have SO MUCH to be thankful for and because I live this life every day it's easy to forget that. We all have things to be thankful for in our daily lives. Even when we go through hard times we're still alive. We still have things that make our lives better. Some of the most miserable people are also the types that don't seem to show appreciation and gratitude toward things. I see a lot of people who live so comfortably but become so irritable at the slightest discomforts and go on about "woe is me my life is so hard". That's not to say that their concerns aren't legitimate; however, it's the ungrateful nature of their attitude that I think makes them miserable. It makes them take everything for granted because everything is seen as normal/expected, which makes life seem more dull than it actually is.
When things are dull it actually affects our mental state and causes us to become sad. It's one reason why people in the winter time become more sad, because the skies are grey and dull more often than they are bright and full of life. In the same way, even though we have things to be thankful for, everything looks grey and dull when we don't remind ourselves of how good we actually have it.
I plan to write a list of the things I'm grateful for and for the remainder of the year take a minute every morning to look at it to remind myself of what I have. By the end of this year of mindfulness it'll be interesting to see how differently I feel about life.
Peace
"If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies in yourself." - Native American proverbThe other day some friends came over and saw my new apartment and mentioned how "oshare" it was (it's a common word in Japanese used to describe a place as "nice" or "fashionable"). It made me think about how much better my life is slowly becoming as I've been working toward my goals and now that I've started to settle in this country.
It's crazy to think about, but for the first time in maybe 4 years I finally have a steady and reliable internet connection. That's insane. College dorm internet sucks. My internet sucked when I moved into an apartment with friends. When I briefly moved back home after college the internet sucked. When I moved to Japan my apartment came with internet (AND IT SUCKED). Now, I've chosen my internet service and pay for it independently, and it's amazing. I play League of Legends and it's a blessing to have a consistent ping (connection smoothness) and not lagging all of the time (imagine trying to explain that to someone from 100 years ago who's never seen the internet) is amazing.
I don't have loud neighbors (though the walls are thin and I can hear the cars driving by at night. Ambulances be damned...), I live in a safe environment, and it's extremely convenient. I have a job that pays enough to cover the bills and live comfortably, I enjoy my work, and I'm surrounded by positive and growth-oriented people at work. I don't have any disabilities, I have a girlfriend to share my life with, and I'm in good physical and mental shape. I'm alive and I have toothpaste.
I have SO MUCH to be thankful for and because I live this life every day it's easy to forget that. We all have things to be thankful for in our daily lives. Even when we go through hard times we're still alive. We still have things that make our lives better. Some of the most miserable people are also the types that don't seem to show appreciation and gratitude toward things. I see a lot of people who live so comfortably but become so irritable at the slightest discomforts and go on about "woe is me my life is so hard". That's not to say that their concerns aren't legitimate; however, it's the ungrateful nature of their attitude that I think makes them miserable. It makes them take everything for granted because everything is seen as normal/expected, which makes life seem more dull than it actually is.
When things are dull it actually affects our mental state and causes us to become sad. It's one reason why people in the winter time become more sad, because the skies are grey and dull more often than they are bright and full of life. In the same way, even though we have things to be thankful for, everything looks grey and dull when we don't remind ourselves of how good we actually have it.
I plan to write a list of the things I'm grateful for and for the remainder of the year take a minute every morning to look at it to remind myself of what I have. By the end of this year of mindfulness it'll be interesting to see how differently I feel about life.
Peace
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| Life doesn't need to be lavish to be good |
Today's assignment: make a list of ten things you are thankful for.
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