Gratitude Starts with Your Attitude

The boss called and said we've got a project coming up, we're getting new furniture.  It's fantastic because we need it, but it also means I (and most of the staff) will be doing a lot of very heavy lifting.  I'm not a fan of moving heavy stuff from one place to another, which is why I've never had a gym membership, and in moments like this I'm tempted to complain.  But, there is an alternative that I've found very helpful--I look for reasons to be thankful instead.

A few years ago I was on an environmentally-conscious kick and I bought a push-reel mower.  Ever used a push-reel?  They work really well if you have a nice flat yard with no rocks or sticks of any kind.  But, I never have had a yard like that.  A couple of years later, I moved to a house with a yard entirely composed of hills that came complete with this ginger-witch for a property manager who drove by my house in November after three straight weeks of rain when there was two inches of standing water in my yard and shrieked at me that the yard must be mowed as part of the rental agreement.  All I had was the push-reel.  So, I slogged and sloshed through all the water, pushing that horrible mower up all the steep hills, pausing every few minutes to remove the tiny twigs that invariably caused the blades to jam.  It took me two hours twice a week to keep my yard mowed with the push-reel. 

I hated Ginger, (yes, she was a ginger named Ginger) and I hated mowing that stupid yard.  I was filled with hatred every second for the 14,400 seconds each week that it took me to mow that yard.  Then something happened.  One day, while I was out mowing, I looked across the street and saw my elderly and very unwell neighbor.  She could barely walk down the driveway to check her mail each day, and every step was painful.  I stopped my internal grumbling and thought, I'm so glad that I'm healthy.  That moment of gratitude opened the door and I heard a new thought pass through my mind: be thankful you're well and healthy enough to mow your yard.  That thought stopped me in my tracks.  I closed my eyes and said a prayer of thankfulness to God for my health, prayed also for my neighbor's health and then continued mowing with a positive attitude. (No, I didn't offer to mow my neighbor's yard, her adult children came by and did that for her each month, but I would have if she'd needed it). 

After that, each week I spent my mowing sessions being thankful not just for my health but for a nice house with a big yard and so many other things.  It also became a time to pray and meditate as things entered my mind.  Over a short amount of time I saw my anxiety turn to peace and my scorn become gratefulness.  I didn't exactly look forward to mowing, but I didn't hate it anymore either.  The situation had not changed, only my attitude toward it and that made all the difference.  So, I look at this upcoming furniture move at work as a way to get some exercise, build some muscle, help out a boss I adore, and I'm thankful for the opportunity.

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