WHAT ARE YOU GRATEFUL FOR?
By Glynn Burrows
When I was little, I was always told that I should be grateful for what I had as there were lots of children in the world much worse off than me. This was something I often heard at mealtimes if I complained that I didn’t like something, or just wanted something different and I was reminded that the little children in Biafra, (a country going through terrible famine and war at the time,) would be pleased to get a tiny part of what I was getting.
Today, gratitude is something which is a much bigger subject in my life and food is only one tiny part of the things I am grateful for.
Some years ago, when I was going through a bad patch, I was told to write a gratitude list each day. Just ten things which I am grateful for and never repeating the things from the days before. A grateful person need never stay miserable, as gratitude will help to stop me feeling sorry for myself and make me start to think of others. (I’ve found that thinking of others is the best way to get out of a black hole.)
Try it yourself next time you are feeling full of self-pity, and you will be amazed. The obvious things are easy to think of: a loving family, a roof over my head, a full stomach, clothes on my back, clean water on tap, electric light, central heating, etc., etc., but, after a little while of doing this on a regular basis, it is amazing the things which come up on the list.
Today, my gratitude list always gets me off my “pity pot” and I don’t need to get to ten things anymore, as I kick myself up the backside and remind myself, I need to be grateful for everything I have after I get to the second thing. “I have shoes on my feet. I have feet to put them on.” (My Uncle lost both his legs, so he didn’t even have feet to put shoes on!)
What is on your gratitude list today?
Glynn provides customized, private tours and also helps his clients trace their English family history. Past guests have visited and experienced stately houses and gardens, castles and churches, ruins and villages, birding and wildlife, World War II airfields, and general area taster tours too. Accommodations can be in all types of establishment, from character buildings such as windmills, thatched cottages and castles, self-catering or five star luxury – just say what you want and it can be arranged. Nothing is too much trouble for Glynn! Visit www.Norfolk-Tours.co.uk
