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| View of Venice from the Grand Canal on a cold February |
“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy;
they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” — Marcel Proust
It
seems that I am in good company with the idea that being thankful can enhance
our lives. The University
of California Berkeley
are undertaking a huge research project on the power of gratefulness. They
define gratitude as “an affirmation that
there are good things in life and it’s an affirmation of relationships with
people who give us good things”
“Gratitude
is many things to many people,” Sonia Lyubomirsky writes. “It is wonder; it is
appreciation; it is looking on the bright side of a setback; it is fathoming
abundance; it is thanking someone in your life; it is thanking God; it is
‘counting blessings.’ It is savouring; it is not taking things for granted; it
is coping; it is present-oriented.” (from her book “The How of Happiness: A New
Approach to Getting the Life You Want”)
The
photo above was taken one cold February when my husband took me to Venice for our 30th
wedding anniversary. The quality of
light that wintry evening enhanced the beauty of the photo.
At times the world can seem a place of
difficulty, uncaring and cold. Thankfulness helps to remind me of what is
beautiful, kind, loving and good in my life. It changes the frame of my focus
and the ‘filter’ I use. The shadows are still there, but I see the beauty too.
Today: I am thankful for all
that is beautiful in my life and helps my soul to blossom, and for all those people who enhance my life.
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