sewing treasures

sewing treasures

Gratitude - Find the Treasure in Your Life

Gratitude â€“ find the treasure in your life

Once upon a time there was a poor man who visited a rich friend and the two drank alcohol until the poor man fell asleep. The rich man had to leave early, but before he went, he sewed a precious jewel into the lining of the poor man's cloak. The poor man was totally unaware of his new wealth and wandered around as a beggar for years until one day he met the rich man again and only then did he discover the fortune he carried around with him.
Just like this story, we all carry around with us hidden treasure and we need the key of gratitude to appreciate the value of our lives.
Fill a glass of water half-way and put it on a table in front of you. Consider the glass of water is it half-empty or half-full? To a person who has walked in the hot desert for hours without water, that glass of water is definitely half-full but to some people it is half-empty. Of course both are true; it's all a matter of perspective. The same is true about the way we view our lives. Some people live their lives in perpetual hunger. They can only see what is missing in their lives, and their lives are defined by the pursuit of the missing possessions, status, fame or fortune. Other people have learnt to value what they already have, and for them life itself becomes the greatest of all treasures. They have learnt the power of gratitude.
Â â€œGratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."
~ Melody Beattie

Definition Gratitude means a state of being grateful or thankful where we are appreciative of benefit received.

Expressing Gratitude
We express our gratitude by thanking others in words and even more so by our acts. When we thank someone we empower them and ourselves. We recognize their value to us and create joy. How we feel about our past (contentment or bitterness) depends on our memories. The more we can find in life to feel grateful about the more we increase our life satisfaction. Gratitude is a catalyst whichÂ puts positive energy into our lives and increases our good memories about the past ; their intensity and frequency. When we startÂ to feel grateful, we begin to notice how much joy we block by taking everything for granted. When we are too self-centered or feel victims, we canâ€™t show or feel appreciation and cut ourselves off from other people.

Research by two psychologists Dr Emmons and McCullogh, shows that people who regularly kept a gratitude diary were more alert, energetic, optimistic, empathetic, and healthy and made greater progress in reaching their personal goals than people who kept an ordinary life event diary.

Here are some examples of things we can feel grateful for :

* Our parents who gave us the gift of life
* Our families and friends
* Our teachers and everybody who taught us the lessons of life
* Our society, country and culture
* Nature and the beauty of our environment
* Each day of life we can enjoy in good health
* Our challenges or difficulties : overcoming them will enable us to grow as human beings

John F. Kennedy said
â€œAs we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.â€

Be Thankful (source unknown)

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire,
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

About the Author

Dennis Merimsky M.A. is the Managing Director of "Lotus Guidance for Change", writes articles and develop courses in self awareness, the process of change, values and Oriental philosophy. He is keenly interested in and writes about the connections between science and the human mind and plans and writes the material for the Lotus workshops. In addition, as a contribution to the community, he directs workshops on dialogue skills and the Earth Charter.

http://www.lotus4u.co.il/eng/,pages,1

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Meter and rhyme, lemongrass and thyme, can you find another title? comment/critique?

Daggers and Roses

Forgetting for once, I've laid down my sword,
Words, not daggers, yet you walk away sliced.
Your meaning, my intent, chiming discord,
Truth's hollow lies amidst a suffering price

Forgetting for once, I've laid down my shield,
Armor-less ardor, resplendent respite
Words, now daggers, your hands openly wield
Wringing wrought ribbons of Love-sewn corslet

Remembering the reason, hearts will oft yield
Love's long fall from face, grace gravely enticed
Words, blunted daggers, restraints far afield
Truth's hollow lies blind with a suffered price.

Forgetting for once, my shield and my sword
Braided scars, chambered vaults, beauty revealed
Words, fragrant roses, waft perfumes adored
Truth's hollow lies content now fully filled

Daggers and roses, divide in our minds
A love not measured, a treasure to find.

(* I just realized, as I come to post this, the title may be a bit too close to Guns n Roses....)

I'd like this more if you shaved off some of the
alliteration. Assonance is a softer device.

The below two lines bumped me off your otherwise fine meter.

"Love's long fall from face, grace gravely enticed"

"Truth's hollow lies blind with a suffered price"