I've been thinking a lot about gratitude lately. And not just thinking about it. Also feeling it. Starting with gratitude that my oldest daughter has gone away to college. No, not because she is out of the house. We all miss her dearly. But I'm so grateful she has started her freshman year and loves it. Because her anxiety disorder had become so extreme, she was unable to attend high school. We did some homeschooling, what she could, but we weren't sure where she'd end up with it all. So her acceptance into and ability to attend college is a grand thing.
There are other things I'm grateful for, too. The Savior, the gospel, my husband, my temple recommend, the fact that our other daughter is doing better, that our son is progressing, that we still have food on the table and a roof over our heads, and other blessings I can stop and count. When I remember to.
I need to be more consistent with feelings of gratitude. I have found that it truly is a Balm of Gilead, and I can always use that. I can't feel gratitude and anxiety at the same time. Certainly gratitude is the better of the two. It also carries with it the Light of Christ, whereas anxiety includes doubt and fear. As Joseph Smith reminds us in Lectures on Faith, where doubt and fear are, there faith cannot be. And, as the Savior reminds us in D&C 6:36, "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not."
So, I'm practicing looking and feeling in a better direction. A more uplifting, fulfilling and enlightening direction.
It all seems to be fueled by gratitude.
I just need to remember to fill up.
