Gratitude and Growth

I am learning as I age that the keys to peace and contentment are in a balancing act between working to improve your life and loving your life as it is.

Growth and gratitude. All at the same time.

Growth is all about humility. We all need to recognize how much we need to improve. It doesn't mean self-loathing. It means I am not above anyone in my need to learn and grow. It means that, using what I know, I must look for what I am still getting wrong. Where am I letting my limited perspective keep me from seeing truth? How do I learn more and broaden my perspective?

Growth is also about hope and faith. What do I want for my future, and how do I get it? I have to let the mental picture of what I want tomorrow to look like keep my energy up. What problems do I have now that will be a distant memory in the months and years to come? What can be better, and what are the steps to get it there? The joy that comes from the certainty (faith) that improvements are coming...is hope.

At the same time I am attacking my problems and shortcomings, I can not allow myself to grow bitter from them. Acknowledging a need to rise above my current state is not equal to hating it. I must also choose to love where I'm at. I must choose to be grateful without becoming static.

Gratitude is not a reflex; it is a choice. I must make this choice every day. I must set my lens to see the beauty of right now. The comforts I have always enjoyed, the growth I have already seen, the love that surrounds me...these are not small things. None of these come to me because of my worthiness, but rather despite my lack of it. By grace. Choosing gratitude is choosing joy in the moment. As I look back on my past, I want to see joy in the day-to-day living. If I allow myself to default to a state of dissatisfaction in order to motivate my growth, my life will have been filled with bitterness.

I want to be grateful for my life, and at the same time strive for better. Achieving that balance holds (some of) the keys to a life well lived.