In addition to being thankful for all the things you have; you should also be thankful for the things you have managed to avoid.
People are usually grateful about things that they have, and they consider themselves fortunate for having them. However, they can also be grateful for things they do not have. These are the things they have been able to avoid.
Any reading of a daily newspaper will quickly reveal a whole host of these types of events and experiences – of which you are grateful to have avoided. For example, being in a war zone, not having enough food to eat, being the victim of a violent crime, losing one’s house because of a natural disaster, being injured in an accident, etc. These are all things that have some degree of frequency in life, but which people have no desire to experience.
Good fortune is the gratitude that people feel about things they have thankfully managed to avoid. And as we learn more and more about the world, it seems as though our sense of good fortune just multiplies and gets greater and greater.
Getting Personal
What are two of the ills you are most grateful to have avoided in your life?
What do these two dreaded ills tell you about your most cherished values?
“For what I have received may the Lord make me truly thankful. And more truly for what I have not received.” Storm Jameson, English author and journalist)
“Be thankful for the bad things in life. For they opened your eyes to the good things you weren’t paying attention to before.” (Unknown)
