Daily Gratitude: “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

I think this is a special quote. It can and should apply to all of us. At some point we may find ourselves feeling as if we can’t achieve something because we don’t have what we think we need.

Last year at vol state I couldn’t move very fast at the times when my legs felt dead. Thanks to the wisest woman I know (Jan) I ended up just walking (waiting to fall behind Oprah). I didn’t have any more energy to put into it then. I just did what I could, as little as that was. Eventually, I got some sleep and food and my legs got back to normal. Then I could go faster…for awhile. Then it would all repeat. I am still astonished I finished.

How did I finish? The exact way this quote says. I did what I could with what I had right there. It made a believer out of me.

Can you think of some time in your life when this quote played out in your life?

Daily Gratitude: “Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”

It’s often helpful to make an intention of taking a certain period of time (a day, a week, a month etc) where you pay specific attention to only seeing the good in your life and around you.

Plan for this period. Figure out a way to catch yourself if you start complaining (the opposite of good). Come up with a mantra to redirect your thoughts. You can use something like this quote. Perhaps “my life is filled with abundance and everything that fills it up is good.” Or come up with your own redirection.

You might also have something like a swear jar where you determine how much money you’ll put in it if you complain? That could be fun.

Try this and then let others know how it has affected your life.

Daily Gratitude: “When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”

Anytime we can do anything with cheer and gratitude, it’s a win win situation.

It’s hard sometimes to give cheerfully when we’re bombarded by GoFundMe pages and requests “to just give a little”. We can feel surrounded or suffocated by all the “asks”.

But maybe there’s a way you can figure out how to be happy about whatever you give, no matter how small the amount. You can try to imagine yourself in the position of the person asking for help. Remember, too, that most of the time the person asking is embarrassed and desperate enough to do a GoFundMe campaign.

Think of their situation as emotionally as you can. That will most likely help you want to give more freely. Learn something from all those shivering puppies you see in the ASPCA ads.

It also helps to think of multiple ways you can give – not just money. I’ve talked about that a lot here. But it’s fun to come up with unique giving opportunities. Many of you have posted some of those ways before.

Just as importantly but maybe a bit harder is the need to accept gratefully. We can’t always give. We have to be able to accept things without qualification. It’s hard to receive when we’re so used to giving. It’s as if that protects us. We put up barriers to letting people get inside of us. They might see our vulnerability and we can’t have that can we?

Let others feel as good about giving as you do. It’s not fair to deprive others of the wonderful, cheerful feeling of giving. And you never know. You might actually learn to like it.