Gratitude

Today was quite alright. I received a small business grant that will help getting us through some complex engineering and approvals. I am very grateful to receive it and the funding will be put to good use.

After receiving the approval I got to thinking. First, I am thankful for all the considerations. Then I started to think about all the assistance I have received over the years. Sometimes it is tough to see those blessing coming through. As I get older, I am able to shift my mindset and understand that there are so many factors that are unseen. I want to thank all those that have been of assistance or given that bit of lift when needed.

I started to think how full of gratitude that I have become. I went a little bit deeper and considered things from an alternate perspective. Life is a balance, and for all the help, there are all the obstructions. I am grateful to those as well. If not for obstruction and adversity, I would still be working some average paying job, caught up in watching some sport, and living what I thought to be normal and mediocre. I am thankful that I have had the opportunity to accomplish many things; things that bring great satisfaction and meaning to this brief thing called life.

My father always told me that in sometimes getting the thing you really want is the worst thing that can happen. When I look back to those sections of life, he was so right. Rejection and obstruction can be the ironic thing that actually gets you to where you want to go. Like Steve Jobs said “It’s like life somehow already knows what you truly want to become.”

With that, it is important to have gratitude in many situations, even those which might appear where gratitude is unwarranted. I really appreciate myself for having the ability to see things in that way. Sometimes it felt that it was forced; you can either look at challenges from a positive or negative perspective. In some cases, you can look at issues realistically from both perspectives and allow each facet to provide insight to the other.

Thank you so much.