Gratitude

Still thinking about yesterday's post...

I was watching a video on Youtube; the woman speaking was wearing a t-shirt that said "Gratitude is the best attitude." Normally I would say that something short and catchy like that that rhymes couldn't possibly be true - that it boils down any truth so much that the truth boils away, leaving a sludge of rhyme and catchyness that can trick us into believing it is true when it really is only emptiness.

But I think there is truth in this phrase.

Sunday in worship Terry said, "You can't be resentful and loving at the same time." (Or something close to that.). 

Can you hold resentfulness and gratitude in your hand at the same time? Life is complicated, so I can't say anything is true all of the time, but I think most of the time, if we are resentful, we have no room left for gratitude.

And if we are grateful, then we can be loving, forgiving, and generous.  Gratitude opens us up to beauty and kindness - both seeing it and offering it.

Maybe gratitude is the best attitude.

What is the role of attitude in life?

What is the role of attitude in life? How does how we approach life change our lives?

A couple of days ago I was in a hotel at their free breakfast bar.  I picked up my coffee and spilled it.  The woman standing next to me (I had never met her before) grabbed napkins and started helping me to clean up the mess.  A couple of previously clean paper coffee cups had been splashed, so I tossed them to the trashcan and missed.  She laughed, and said, "Your day is off to a bad start."

My response: "My day has started by meeting a very nice person."  It just popped out of my mouth, unthought.  

Attitude: how we see what is in front of us.  A positive attitude doesn't change that I spilled my coffee.  It did open my eyes to the helpfulness of a stranger.  

Do we only see the negative? Or do we open our eyes among the negative to find the positive? And what difference does that make?