buddha on gratitude

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful. 

Buddha

Buddha sounds a lot like Pollyanna in this quote. It sounds simplistic, but I think there's always something to be grateful for in any situation. Sometimes it's extremely hard to find, and often we don't even bother looking, because what we're going through feels like the end of the world. I've certainly had times in my life when the world seemed to be crumbling around me - the end of my first marriage was one of those - and it's taken a lot of effort and time to find the silver lining, but there's always something to hang on to. 

Yes, sometimes life is cruel and the pain seems pointless - nothing good could come of it - but if nothing else, there is always something to be learned. Perhaps it might mean I can use my own experience to help someone else through a similar situation. Perhaps it might just mean I'm a little more sympathetic to other points of view. Perhaps it might send my life off in a totally unexpected direction. And maybe it will take years and a lot more experience and hindsight to appreciate whatever it is I was able to take from the experience.

So, today, I am grateful for:

• that first marriage - when it was good, it was very very good, and I had the opportunity to do some things I might never have otherwise considered.
• the end of that first marriage - despite the pain, it was fairly quick and sharp, and there were no children involved, so I could grieve as I needed to and move on to do new things.
• the opportunity I had to live on my own between marriages - to stand on my own feet and know that, whatever happens around me, I will get through it.