Live In Daily Gratitude~

                                                           Photo by Debbie @ It's All About Purple - graphic by LeAnn

 Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin gave a stirring message entitled; "Live in Thanksgiving Daily". He stated the following: " Gratitude is a mark of a noble soul and a refined character. We like to be around those who are grateful. They tend to brighten all around them. They make others feel better about themselves. They tend to be more humble, more joyful, and more likable." 

In D&C 59:7; "Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things". We are to have thankful hearts always.

Picture on lds.org - graphic by LeAnn

In the on going study and quest for a more charitable nature; I believe that Gratitude is one of the greatest of the divine virtues. 
 Take a moment and think about someone that you know that shows true happiness in the way they live. What are they like? What do they do to be happy? 
All around us we can find those that are unhappy. What are they like? What are they doing to be so unhappy? 
I believe that there is something we can do to be happier. In Elder Wirthlin's message he shared the following story. 

"A long time ago in a faraway village lived a man who everyone did their very best to avoid. He was the type of person who believed that there was only one competent person in the world, and that one person was himself. Consequently, he was never satisfied with anything. His shoes never fit right. His shirt never felt comfortable. When his food wasn’t too cold, it was too salty, and when it wasn't too hot, it was too bland.
If a field wasn’t sowed by himself, it was not sowed well. If he didn't close the door, the door was not closed properly.
In short, he made a career of frowning, lecturing, criticizing, and mumbling about the in competencies of every other person in the rest of the world.

Unfortunately, the man was married, which made matters all the worse. No matter what his wife did, in his eyes it was wrong. No matter what the unfortunate woman cooked, sewed, or cleaned—or even when she milked the cow—it was never satisfactory, and he let her know it.

She tried very hard to be a good wife, but it seemed the harder she tried, the less she pleased him. Finally, one evening she could take no more.“I’ll tell you what we’ll do,” she told him. “Tomorrow I will do your chores and you will do mine.”“But you can’t do my chores,” the man replied. “You don’t know the first thing about sowing, hoeing, and irrigating.”But the woman was adamant. And on top of that, she was filled with a righteous anger that frankly astonished and frightened the man to the point where he didn’t dare disagree.

So the next morning the wife went off to the fields and the man began the domestic chores. After thinking about it, he had actually convinced himself he was looking forward to it. Once and for all, he would demonstrate to his wife how things should be done.

Unfortunately, not everything went according to plan. In fact, nearly everything the man touched turned into disaster. He spilled the milk, let the pig get into the house, lost the cow, burned the dinner, and ultimately set the house on fire, narrowly escaping with his own life."

Elder Wirthlin further stated  the following: "In our story, it was the absence of gratitude that made the man miserable. His inability to appreciate others caused him to be critical of their efforts. Not only did he not empathize with them, he could not allow himself to acknowledge their contributions. The disasters that confronted him surely made him humble, but, more particularly, they made him appreciate and be grateful for his wife. 

Here are some thoughts that I learned from this message. 
First of all open your eyes and look around you at all the beauties of this earth. Look at all the wonderful people that surround you, your family, friends, co-workers, those you meet and see on a daily basis.
 Second, open your hearts. Get rid of the negative feelings and fill your hearts with love, faith and deep gratitude for all that you have.
Third, live in Gratitude daily. Open up your arms to those around you. Serve those around you; your family, friends and others that you mingle with daily.  
Here are some added thoughts from Elder Wirthlin; "When was the last time you unselfishly reached out to help another in need? Every time we cheer another's heart, every time we ease another's burden, every time we lift a weary hand, we show our gratitude to that God to whom we owe all that we have and all that we are.......As we strive to open our eyes, hearts, and arms, our step will become a little lighter, our smile will become a little brighter, and the darkness that sometimes broods over our lives will become a little lighter."
I want to work a little harder on this divine attribute of gratitude. Perhaps, we could all count our blessings each day. One way to do that is to write down 5 things you are grateful for each day. Here are my five for today~

1. I am grateful for this beautiful world we live in. 2. I am grateful for life itself. Just hold a new born baby and recognize the wonderful gift of life from a loving Heavenly Father. 3. I am deeply grateful for my very good loving and kind husband. I am grateful for our Eternal Marriage. I am very thankfull he a caring father to our children.4. I love and am so grateful for my large and growing posterity. 

5. I am thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Each day as I pray to my Heavenly Father in gratitude for all my blessings; I feel deeply blessed to have a testimony of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I love my Heavenly Father and my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for the Scriptures, for the Temple and for the many opportunity to serve others. 
                               
                                                         Photo by Debbie @ It's All About Purple - graphic by LeAnn

Here is a favorite Quote by President Gordon B. Hinckley; "My plea is that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that as we go through life, we 'accentuate the positive'. I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good......that we more generously compliment and endorse virtue and effort." (Standing for Something 2000), 101. 
You can read Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin's entire message here.