Remember

[jimsenchuk]

Remember, if you are criticizing, you are not being grateful. If you are blaming, you are not being grateful. If you are complaining, you are not being grateful. If you are feeling tension, you are not being grateful. If you are rushing, you are not being grateful. If you are in a bad mood, you are not being grateful.
Gratitude can transform your life. Are you allowing minor things to get in the way of your transformation and the life you deserve?

[Nebula]

Who said I hate to be grateful?

[Nom_de_Plume]

Gratitude can transform your life. Are you allowing minor things to get in the way of your transformation and the life you deserve?

Cool I'll totally be grateful if I can transform into this!!!

[jimsenchuk]

Cool I'll totally be grateful if I can transform into this!!!

Are you allowing minor things to get in the way of your transformation and the life you deserve?

If so you will never find it.

[jimsenchuk]

Who said I hate to be grateful?

You just did.

[Nom_de_Plume]

Are you allowing minor things to get in the way of your transformation and the life you deserve?

If so you will never find it.

Nope, I'm having a pretty good life.
I don't need to transform into anything. Also I'm a little fuzzy on whom I'm supposed to be grateful to. Seeing as grateful is the act of being thankful to someone or something.
Definition

grate·ful
   [greyt-fuhl]
adjective
1.
warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received; thankful: I am grateful to you for your help.
2.
expressing or actuated by gratitude: a grateful letter.
3.
pleasing to the mind or senses; agreeable or welcome; refreshing: a grateful breeze.

[jimsenchuk]

Are we in school now?

[Nom_de_Plume]

Are we in school now?

life is school
besides I'm not the one who started the thread like a lecture on being grateful.

[1nick]

I'm grateful for Richard Dawkins,Christopher Hitchens,Bertrand Russell etc etc etc

[cliffy1]

Nope, I'm having a pretty good life.
I don't need to transform into anything. Also I'm a little fuzzy on whom I'm supposed to be grateful to. Seeing as grateful is the act of being thankful to someone or something.

Nom, perhaps you can be grateful to yourself for having created a wonderful life for yourself. Because we do create ourselves and our lives.

I'm grateful to myself and quantum mechanics for making my creations possible.

[jimsenchuk]

besides I'm not the one who started the thread like a lecture on being grateful.

I did not start a lecture, just a fact.

[Nom_de_Plume]

I did not start a lecture, just a fact.

you mean opinion, not fact!

But fair enough, and if your sole purpose in life is just to sit there being grateful then I guess that's good for you.
Well done.
I myself, will criticise injustice. I will blame closed minded people for being intolerant. I will complain to the policy makers when I see them doing things to hurt society/our planet etc. Some of these things will cause me to feel tension but I turn that around to motivate myself to do better. Will my inability to immediately succeed sometimes cause me to be in a bad mood? Of course, but that's what ice cream is for. Working for the betterment of my fellow man will transform my life. I don't need to sit here feeling grateful to whomever, that accomplishes nothing.

[fluffy]

Taking a step back from the dictionary meanings, to me the whole gratitude thing is more of a general outlook on life. The haves vs. the have-nots in a way, and which group we see ourselves as part of. Be grateful for what you have as opposed to pining away for that which you do not have. So much of our "success" with life depends on our own perceptions. I'm reminded of my recently departed renter who used to start her day with an inventory of things she had to complain about, people who *bleep* her off, things she couldn't afford and just a generally nasty outlook on life when she could have been taking an inventory of good things she did have but chose to conveniently ignore and/or take for granted. Funny thing was that most of the things she complained about were situations that were either completely out of her control, or things she refused to take responsibility for her part in. Oddly, having her around was a daily reminder at what I could do to keep my life on the plus side, reminding me to focus on this in my life that I had reason to be grateful for rather than stacking up reasons for resentment. It's not so much a matter of who to be grateful to as it is just a matter of being grateful in general.

[cliffy1]

Taking a step back from the dictionary meanings, to me the whole gratitude thing is more of a general outlook on life. The haves vs. the have-nots in a way, and which group we see ourselves as part of. Be grateful for what you have as opposed to pining away for that which you do not have. So much of our "success" with life depends on our own perceptions. I'm reminded of my recently departed renter who used to start her day with an inventory of things she had to complain about, people who *bleep* her off, things she couldn't afford and just a generally nasty outlook on life when she could have been taking an inventory of good things she did have but chose to conveniently ignore and/or take for granted. Funny thing was that most of the things she complained about were situations that were either completely out of her control, or things she refused to take responsibility for her part in. Oddly, having her around was a daily reminder at what I could do to keep my life on the plus side, reminding me to focus on this in my life that I had reason to be grateful for rather than stacking up reasons for resentment. It's not so much a matter of who to be grateful to as it is just a matter of being grateful in general.

Perzacly! What we perceive is what we receive. Life is all about perception - glass half full/half empty. An attitude of gratitude puts a positive spin on your reality.

[jimsenchuk]

Nom_de_Plume you mean opinion, not fact!

This is not my personal opinion, but it is a fact, please read it very carefully, it's only common sense.

Here is another one for you:

* I do not have to feel guilty just because someone else does not like
what I do, say, think, or feel.

* It is O. K. for me to feel angry and to express it in responsible
ways.

* I do not have to assume full responsibility for making decisions,
particularly where others share responsibility for making the
decision.

* I have the right to say, “I don’t know.”
* I have the right to say “No,” without feeling guilty.
* I have the right to say “I don’t understand,” without feeling
stupid.

* I do not have to apologize or give reasons when I say “No.”
* I have the right to ask others to do things for me.
* I have the right to refuse requests which others make of me.
* I have the right to tell others when I think they are manipulating,
conning or treating me unfairly.

* I have the right to refuse additional responsibilities without
feeling guilty.

* I have the right to tell others when their behavior annoys me.
* I do not have to compromise my personal integrity.
* I have the right to make mistakes and to be responsible for them; I
have the right to be wrong.

* I do not have to be liked, admired, or respected by everyone for
everything I do.

– Author Virginia Satir