Gratitude

Last night, I was reading the latest issue of Boston’s Natural Awakenings magazine and stumbled upon this quote by author Melody Beattie: “Gratitude 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.”

What a beautiful reminder to be thankful for what we have, and stretch yourself to find the beauty in the little things. I think we can all work on finding a little more gratitude, no matter what the circumstance.

This past week, I had been bumming out about money. While it would have been pretty sweet to have won the powerball, I reminded myself that money does not buy love. It does not bring happiness, peace or even success. It’s just a thing.

While there are many wealthy people out there who are successful and brilliant, there are an equal number of people who are are living by the week who are just as successful and brilliant.

So today, I want to express my gratitude for those things I am forever grateful for:

  • My supportive family who never judge, and always encourage me
  • The fact that I just celebrated two years with an amazing man who taught me what love is supposed to feel like
  • Access to healthy food, even if that means I blow my paychecks at Whole Foods or farmer’s markets
  • My knowledge in the field of nutrition & ability to help and change lives of so many people
  • An apartment, that even though has the smallest kitchen I’ve ever seen, keeps me cozy and safe, and creates new memories each and every day
  • My strength, that gets me through a tough day, a half marathon, a yoga practice
  • Laughter

How do you feel about gratitude? What do you appreciate in life, that you already have?

5 Responses to “Gratitude”

  1. jobo Says:

    Gratitude…is such a fleeting thing sometimes yet it really should be something we NEVER take for granted. I love this post!

  2. Rachel @Healthy_Chicks Says:

    @jobo You are SO right. We definitely tend to take it for granted at times. It’s nice to sit back and think about what we’re grateful for.

  3. Lauren Says:

    I am grateful for amazing women who blog such as yourself! This is something that should be practiced all year round as far as I’m concerned!

    I have been reading this incredible book that is a wealth of knowledge and I thought I would share.

    http://www.amazon.com/Nutritional-Alignment%C2%AE-Living-Synergy-ebook/dp/B00AFG0H6G/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

    Grateful Lauren.

  4. Rachel @Healthy Chicks Says:

    @Lauren Thank you so much for your kind comments… I am so glad that you enjoyed this post and totally agree with you that we should practice this 365 days a year!

    I willl definitely check out the book you recommended – thanks for the suggestion!

  5. Healthy Chicks» Blog Archive » I am grateful for… Says:

    […] Thanksgiving Day coming tomorrow, I’ve been thinking a lot about gratitude lately. I’m a firm believer that expressing your gratitude & feeling thankful is the # […]

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This entry was posted on Friday, November 30th, 2012 at 10:45 am and is filed under Lifestyle. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.