A month of thankfulness has tested me.

This month I have tried to post something each day that I am thankful for. About day nine I hit a wall and didn’t quite know what to be thankful for. Can you imagine something so silly? I mean, seriously, I know how blessed I am. It should be easy to post something each day.

Finally I realized that I was struggling because I was trying to find profound things to appreciate in my life. By life isn’t about profound things. It’s about the little things. And my life is full of lots of little things that I take for granted because I am looking for huge things to be grateful about.

This weekend I read “The Noticer” by Andy Andrews. It is not a long book; only 156 pages long. An easy read, the book has a profound message that dovetailed perfectly with my thoughts today as I face the end of my month of thankfulness. On page 13 the character of Jones says:

“’When you focus on the things you need,’ he went on to explain, ‘you will find those needs increasing. If you concentrate your thoughts on what you don’t have, you will soon be concentrating on the other things you had forgotten you don’t have –and feel worse! If you set your mind on loss, you are more likely to lose….But a grateful perspective brings happiness and abundance into a person’s life.’”

Aha, finally, it got through my thick skull! It’s all about perspective and my perspective has been skewed. I have been focusing on what I don’t have and not what I have. Because of this blind spot in my vision I have had a hard time being truly thankful for how blessed I am.

So, here at the end of the month I have a new perspective and I am going to work hard to keep my eye on the important things in life. The last line of the book…”That has been the greatest gift we received, the gift of a new perspective…..from an old man named Jones.”

Indeed, the book was a great read and thanks to Mr. Andrews I have been given the gift of a new perspective. I encourage you to read the book also. You can find more about Andy and purchase this book by visiting the Andy Andrews Web Site