I was watching my hubby make some tuna sandwiches the other day. He mixed the tuna with some Miracle Whip (not mayonnaise), added some chopped onions and then combined it until it was just perfect (I prefer dill pickles in mine). Then…he removed four slices of bread from the bag and buttered them thoroughly. Finally he began to transfer the tuna onto the buttered bread, methodically spreading the tuna out to all of the edges of the crust. After he had made the two sandwiches, he realized that he had enough remaining tuna for a third, albeit smaller, sandwich. A tiny smile tugged at the corner of my mouth......I said to him, “You are lucky! You are getting a “bonus” sandwich!”
I began to think…..why can’t we look at our lives like it is the unexpected “bonus” sandwich? Would we greet the day differently if we did? If we got up each morning and said to ourselves, “I am going to live today as if it was a bonus….given to me unexpectedly. I am going to appreciate that I am healthy, that I live in a free country, that my children have clean water to drink, that we have enough food to eat. I am not going to look at my life through the eyes of a cynic…I am going to appreciate every beautiful nuance of today because tomorrow it could change.
It struck me that when we lack appreciation for the wonders which surround us and never take a moment to express or acknowledge our pleasure of simply being alive, we are shortchanging ourselves.
So…look at today and all of your tomorrow’s as your ‘bonus” sandwich. Unexpected…. and appreciated.
Judy
5 comments:
Judy,
Thanks for reminding me what a powerful, life-changing tool gratitude is. I used to have a gratitude journal and from my experience, the more you practice being grateful not only is your life more enjoyable, but you actually attract more things to be grateful for!
Yes it is a bonus every day that we were born here and have every advantage in front of us. It kind of made we want to open a can of tuna just to see what would happen! Thanks for sharing and enjoy this season for all its joys.
Thanks to both of you for your comments. I was given a journal from a girl friend this year for my birthday....it might become my gratitude journal.
Sweet post! Thanks. I've kept a gratitude journal on and off, and right now I'm off and it's amazing how quickly I forget and get caught up in other ways of looking at things. Back to it. I'm grateful for the story and your realization that led to it!
Thank you for commenting Andrea - I am so sorry that I didn't notice your response earlier, please forgive me.
I have often wanted to keep a gratitude journal, but sometimes think that I need to keep an "attitude" journal instead :)
I need to remember to look at life differently, with appreciation and wonder instead of cynicism and sarcasm. I am trying :)
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Judy
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