Being thankful in an unthankful world

"Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

—Melody Beattie

One day, about 15-plus years ago, I was just having the blues. I couldn’t do anything right, no matter how hard I tried, or so I thought. The whole world might as well have been against me. I had just begun my journey into motivation, self-help and psychology. Little did I know it would become my life's work.

I decided instead of focusing on myself and what I couldn't do, I would make a list of all the things I could do. I started every line with "I can." One of the lines was I can drive. I numbered each one, and by the time I was finished writing, I had 15 things I could do. I ended on a happy note.

Being thankful, unfortunately, doesn’t just happen. Most of the time, it takes hard and intentional work to be thankful for what we have. If we don’t make any effort, then we could by default become bitter, angry and resentful. Just like building muscle, we need to build our minds in the direction we want to go in life.

Watch out who you are spending your time around. I notice the more time I spend around some people, the more I pick up some of their attitudes about life. That is why it is so crucial we spend time with people who can lift us. If we hang around with the wrong people, we will have the wrong views about life. No one can live a happy, joyful life with a bad attitude. I know they might seem cool, funny or to have all the answers, but when life gets hard, they will be nowhere to be found.

Joyful people, on the other hand, are like gold and diamonds; they reflect the light of God. Joy is one of the greatest gifts God gives us. We have to start somewhere, and calling, texting or just making small talk with a friend who has a good outlook on life is always a good place to start. Maybe after a while we can have lunch with them. I learned people like to be asked about themselves. Maybe we can learn from them.

Just as I opened my column about a list, I will encourage everyone to make their own list. A knee-jerk reaction might be that I don't have anything to be thankful for, but that is not true. If we take our time and allow ourselves to think about things, it will come to us. Most people get hung up on thinking it has to be something big. What about having a roof over our heads or having heat? See, the little, everyday things are just as important as the big things.

I want to leave you with something Frankie Ballard said in a song: “Bad times make the good times better.”

Kyle Snyder can be emailed at kylesnyder86@yahoo.com.