Gratitude Changes Everything

It's a dreary Sunday and I should be on my way to church, but I'm still under the weather; no pun intended here.  As I'm looking out my slider door, I see the trees swaying and the rain whipping back and forth. This makes me wonder, "How do I really feel about this dreary day?" Some people tend to say their moods change as the weather changes. I would assume some would say they'd be blah since the weather is so dark, windy and raining. Does the weather really affect ones mood? I don't really know, but I do know that those with Lupus or any other arthritic or rheumatic disease, it does affect our joints and pain. For me, I'm already inside tending to my broken body that's trying to fight off another foreign invader.

This brings me to, what do you focus on most? Do you focus on what's mostly wrong with you as far ailments or do you focus mostly on the positive of your life? This really makes a difference because it can impair your attitude, your outlook and quality of life.

• Hope: Without hope in your life what are you left with? You must continue to be hopeful otherwise you loose sight of everything.
• Balance: For those who do yoga, you probably do this all the time. This is about taking what is yours; your life. This is yours, it doesn't belong to Lupus. Find your inner balance and own it.
• Inner Strengths: You have power inside yourself and you need to learn to use it. Do not give it away and certainly don't let Lupus have all your power. Again, own your power and dig deep inside yourself for that inner strength!
• Self Care: Everything begins from within your body. Do everything within your power to do what's best for yourself to care for "YOU". Everything you put into your body is the first step to caring for yourself; whether it's food, what you drink, the products you use, etc. Do the best you can to care for "YOU".
• Support: When you have a life long and chronic disease it's highly important that you get the best support possible. Depression and anxiety can run high with Lupus and such diseases. Whether the support comes from family, friends or a support group it's recommended one has someone they can rely on during difficult times. This too can add to quality of life.
• Journey: Living with a chronic and life long disease is a long journey. Everyone that goes through this needs to understand that it is a long journey but we don't walk this journey alone.

Sometimes it's easier to focus on what's wrong with you, but then we forget what's right in your life. That's where gratitude goes missing. Let's knock the negative right out of your life and begin focusing on the positive and work on getting gratitude in your life!

After you get up in the morning and do your morning ritual, think of at least one thing your grateful for. There has to be at least 1 thing. This is not hard. Trust me! Do this every day & after a week of doing this your life will be different, you'll notice how you look at the world in a different light and how you actually see yourself differently. But....Don't give up after a week! Keep doing the gratitude challenge every day and sooner or later it will become a daily habit.

Gratitude really does change everything~