Feel good when things are good?

Here is something that I read a few days ago that was so inspiring and uplifting. I’m not exactly sure where it originally comes from, since a friend sent it to me, but the message was very well put. You know how sometimes you can read something and it’s will be just what you need at the time, or help you see things in a new light, or even give you some good advice to a problem you’ve been struggling with, well this kinda did that. Optimism is a great thing but courage to stay optimistic in a difficult time is extremely admirable.

“It is relatively easy to feel grateful when good things are happening and life is going the way we want it to. Even then, we often take things for granted. It feels so good to take a moment to express our appreciation to other people, to life.

A much greater challenge is to get in touch with gratitude when we are going through a difficult time, or life is not going the way we think it should. At these times, we are more likely to be feeling hurt, confused, or resentful. There have been times in my life when I felt more like shaking my fist at the universe, wondering why it was dealing me such a cruel blow.

It’s interesting‚ though, that after going through a difficult time, in retrospect we can often see that there was something important and necessary about that experience. We may not arrive at this perspective until months or even years later, but eventually we can see that there was some important lesson learned, a deepening of our wisdom, an awakening, or perhaps a new door that opened in our life as a result of events that seemed negative at the time.

For example, the loss of a job may have led us to spiritual or emotional healing. The ending of a relationship may give us the opportunity to discover that we need time alone‚ or it may pave the way for a more satisfying partnership. At that point, we may begin to feel grateful that life unfolded as it did.”