Attitude of Gratitude

I can’t tell you how many times in my sobriety that I’ve found myself accepting an invitation to a one-person pity party. And without exception, my sponsor would tell me to make a gratitude list. I would do it – sometimes quickly and sometimes slowly – but I would do it. And without fail, my mental state would change. During this challenging time, I try to keep an attitude of gratitude even while acknowledging there really is something to be distressed about. Being grateful doesn’t mean being in denial about what is going on. It means that once we face our feelings about the circumstances, we can choose to shift our focus. With my focus shifted, I find there is always something, no matter how small, I can be grateful for: the tulip that bloomed in my yard, food in my refrigerator, online shopping, Facetime, a good book and time to read it. And if in any moment I can find nothing else to say thank you for, at least for today, I am grateful to be sober.

Another lawyer writes:

SHELTER IN PLACE. SHELTER IN GRATITUDE.

Because a lawyer’s job is to identify the clients’ the worst-case scenario and avoid it, we may be forgiven for seeing the current pandemic as an extinction-level apocalypse. I’ve learned that when I’m disturbed, worried, or crippled with existential terror, I’m imagining a future loss, so I remember the words of a sponsor: Focus on the blessings you have now, and you will lose focus on the things you think you want (emphasis in original). The easiest way for me to do that is to make a short, daily gratitude list. Join me! Here’s my COVID-19 gratitude list for today. I am grateful for:

1. Increased time with my family.
2. Workers who are bravely preventing full societal collapse.
3. Not being in the world of big-cat owners.

How about you?