Gratitude list 2018

As humans we have a tendency to focus more on things that don’t go as we feel they should. We forget easily the things that did turn out great. It is easy for us to end up whiny, complaining, sad, angry,ungrateful etc when this happens. The range of emotions is broad. Gratitude is forgotten. In the midst of all this, I have discovered there is power in being grateful.

Gratitude made me look away from all the wrongs and concentrate on all the right things going on in my life. At the risk of sounding like a motivational speaker, I will say at the end of the day, when we reflect on it, there is so much to be grateful to God about. It’s the end of the year and I am going to share 10 things from my gratitude list this 2018.

1) Family: It is said that we do not get to choose the family we are born into, but I have been blessed with the best there is. Their support, trust, love is phenomenal. I do not take for granted and assume that they are just supposed to do all that. I consider it a privilege to come from a family where I am loved, cherished and accepted just the way God made me. for this they make it to the very top of my gratitude list this 2018.

2) Friends: Seems cliche right? I go from family straight to friends. Well truthfully, no one can exist as an Island and this cliche is my reality.
Without friends in my life,I do not know how I may have been able to navigate some difficult patches in my life this year. God blessed me with friends who know how to be there for me, and I pray I know also how to be there for them. As an individual, I hardly call people let alone keep in touch, definitely not something I am proud of but… my friends are the real MVP. God put people in my life for every season, it’s just awesome.

3) Personal Growth:  I am surprised this made it to my gratitude list. it just sort off typed itself on to my writing pad. on a serious note, I am thankful for growth. Growth in the sense that, everything that has happened this year and will happen, has a purpose and has made me stronger and better. I am a firm believer in nothing just happens. I may not have the reasons or answers but I am confident its all for the greater good. I dare to say at the expense of sounding cocky that I have no regrets. I used to be an advocate of NOT waiting to learn from my own mistakes but I believe I needed to, to able to grow, be refined and come as gold. Sounds so easy typing but it was not as easy as I make it seem.

4) An income source: When the future seemed bleak, God provided stability and a means to earn in the form of a Job. For that I am grateful.

5) Writing: I sincerely believe that the ability to express my thoughts on paper is quite therapeutic.
I have been saved a lot of otherwise paid therapy sessions because of this. It deserves a worthy mention on my gratitude list 2018

6) Food: I am grateful for food. My relationship with food has evolved through the years, from times when I have felt I was too fat to times when I felt too skinny. It’s been a process but I am grateful for the progress and the ability to choose.The other day I was craving beans and plantain, just went to the shop and got me some beans.

7) Train rides: I have come to appreciate the solitude that train rides offer me. Majority of my daily movement in 2018 has been by trains. I have gotten to destinations both late and on time. I have been delayed for more than 2 hrs and had the ‘luxury’ of getting chocolate and water as ‘compensation’. The best thing about train rides is, I can either sleep through the ride, watch the passing surrounding, carry out my devotion, or write. The choices are endless.

8)My glasses deserve to be on this gratitude list. For so long the world was blurry. Lost my glasses a while back and as thrifty as I am, on things I do not consider too important, I just got some really cheap ones. Finally got round to getting new designer glasses. yes, you either go big or go home, and I got two! ‘boujee’ right? Not really. I got two for the price of one and now I can see the world clearer. It is worth the splash. There is a good reason why some things are expensive .

9) closer to the finish line, my laptop. It’s been with me for a while and works perfectly with a broken screen but its a faithful one. Permanently by my bedside and just like my red bike, it has been long suffering.

10) Better is the end of a thing than the beginning. I am grateful for life and the privilege to get to December 2018.  It’s been a great year and I can’t wait to see what 2019 has in store for me. My excitement level is on 100%. Even if nothing really changes, just the date, for me it signifies the end of something and the beginning of another. That’s big if you ask me.