Gratitude

Life's been so good to me
Has it been good to you
Has it been everything
That you've expected it to be
Was it as good for you
As it was good for me
And was it everything
That it was all set up to be
~ Danny Elfman of Oingo Boingo

Gratitude! What an important thing to possess. I recently tried to communicate this to my young men on Sunday. I believe gratitude to be the founding root of all things good. It is my opinion that a person who has gratitude, also will discover they have happiness, success and love. Many are compelled to gratitude, typically after they lose something. It is easy to be grateful for what you had at a later date when you no longer have it. I find the key to happiness, success and love is to find gratitude for every little thing Heavenly Father has blessed us with before it is too late.

Here are a few ways I have learned to show my gratitude. Maybe they will help you:

• Write something you are grateful for at the end of every journal entry
• Send a thank you card once a week to someone who has helped you, influenced you or otherwise touched your life.
• Make genuine "Thank You"s a part of your every day vocabulary.
• Blog about it!
  
• Most important - Be kind to others and treat them with graciousness.
  

I am a very grateful person. I see greed and selfishness everywhere I look and it is bothersome. It is worrisome to find myself caught up in these sins from time to time, but I am grateful I am firmly rooted in my thankfulness for what I have; for my ability to recognize that which is ultimately important and place those things first in my list of blessings. I am happy that my parents have raised me to recognize blessings and to express outwardly my gratitude for these things. I am happy my Heavenly Father blessed me with a natural ability to understand that all good things come from Him and that I am nothing without His hand in my life.

There are so many things to be grateful for and for that reason I love Thanksgiving and the holidays. It is a time when we are encouraged to look within for those things that we are truly blessed with; to recognize and prioritize those blessings we have been given. Elder Kikuchi once told me that if I ever find myself in a position where I didn't feel like praying, all I need to do is simply kneel and begin to itemize my blessings. It is impossible to do without humbling your soul and placing you in a state of gratitude and love for what He has given you. I know this from experience. I have been blessed with a loving Heavenly Father who gives me everything I need and more. He has given me the greatest blessing in His Son, Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice.

I am grateful for my wife, Sarah. She may not be perfect, but she is perfect for me. I could not want anyone else in my life. I am grateful for Leah. She is truly a special spirit and this will be proved time and time again in her life. I already feel it. She has made me so happy. I am thankful for Caitlin. Caitlin is Sarah and my angel. She may never understand just how grateful we are for her. I am grateful for a perfect Mother and a loving Father. They have made me what I am today. I am grateful for my brothers who are so different from me and each other, yet we are perfect together. I am thankful they are all coming for Thanksgiving. I am thankful for my Grandfather Bliss. I am thankful for my Grandmother Bliss-Baldwin and Brewer. I am grateful for my nieces and nephews. I am thankful for my entire family, in-laws included. I have been blessed with a strong family support system. At times I may act independent like they are not needed, but they are.

I am so blessed with some of the best and most amazing friends, past and present, a guy could ever want. I am thankful for a job that allows me to support my family comfortably. I am grateful for my boss and the other owners of the company. If it were not for Steve, Phil, Len and Boyd, I would have left the company and industry years ago. I am thankful for the best ward ever with such an amazing Bishop. I am grateful to live in the friendliest neighborhood to ever exist. The ward and neighborhood I live in have been so supportive in all our needs. Simply amazing. I am thankful for my young men and their unique personalities.

Man, this list can go on and on. I am thankful for the church, almost all music, football, mountains, the ocean, technology, learning, thumbs, food, soda, milk, history, my mission, all my experiences and believe it or not...my health issues. I am thankful for my slippa's, surf culture, my heritage, the travel I have done and will still do, I am thankful for cars, yardwork, grass, etc. I am so blessed. So, so, so blessed. I simply do not know how to express it. I do my best and won't stop trying. That is all I can do. That is all that is expected of me. Where much is given, much is required. I truly have been given much.