Over the last few years I've taken the time to examine my life. I've looked at myself from the outside in and then inside out; all in an effort to understand who I am and why I am the way that I am. My decade long struggle with depression had caused me to become someone that I didn't like when I looked in the mirror. I knew that I needed to get to the root cause(s) of my depression and eradicate the cancer from within.
As you may or may not know, I chose writing as the vehicle to help me let my inner-most feelings escape. Each time I wrote, it seemed that I was uncovering feelings that had been trapped under the surface for years. Within no time, I had amassed a pretty big library of blog posts that, when put under the microscope of introspection, revealed that I had issues that needed to be dealt with one at a time.
The funny thing about my writing is this: the more I wrote, the more people began to follow my posts and I would receive comments saying how they were struggling with many of the same issues that I had been dealing with. Go figure.
Recently, I have been dealing with the issue of forgiveness. Learning how to forgive others and also learning how to forgive myself. I've learned that living each day with a spirit of gratitude is the key to having the ability to forgive and it is the key to living life.
Life is all about our attitude. Instead of complaining about how you have to get up and go to your job tomorrow; why not try being thankful for the job you have? Instead of being sad because the concert or sporting event or whatever you just attended had to end; be thankful that you had the opportunity to attend and share in the fun and excitement. Instead of complaining about some minor ache or pain; be thankful that you are not suffering from Alzheimer's or some other debilitating illness.
When you truly examine your life; you'll see that it's not as bad as you think it is. And for that you should be grateful. I am grateful that God allowed me to see just how good my life is and that He gave me a second chance to live it the way it was meant to be lived. Right now, you might be dealing with a tough situation in life. My advice is to take a step back and to begin thinking about all of the blessings in your life. What you might view as insurmountable God views as an opportunity for you to excel. Just begin living with an attitude of gratitude and let Him do the rest. C'mon... I dare you.
Be Well.
Bill
