My Reflection is taken from a presentation given by Jerry Dollard on the subject of “Gratitude.”
“Through Gratitude we are able to appreciate the little things that go well during the day. This is gratitude for our life as it is, not necessarily as we would like it to be, but gratitude for today. One way of beginning to develop an attitude that allows us to be grateful is to take some time at the end of each day to make a list of the good things that have occurred. By writing out a list of gratitudes every day, we will begin to develop a different perspective on our lives. We begin to see that our lives have a richness we did not suspect. Gratitude is the daily practice of looking at the good things in life, no matter how small. This is where all of us can begin: Gratitude for life, for sobriety, for small things that go well during the day, for a smile, for an expression of care from someone, that we are able to take time to do something for ourselves or for someone else, helps us to see life in perspective. Many of us are all -or-nothing people. We are either on top of the world or the world is on our shoulders. However, if we wait to be grateful only for the big things, the chances are we’ll never be grateful at all. A practice of gratitude helps us see that we are simply in the world as human beings.”
The above words were taken from a talk given by Jerry Dollard at the Neil Kennedy Recovery Clinic to a group of patients while I was working there as an R.N. and also as a Counselor and I was very moved by his words at the time and wanted to share them with you. Sadly, the Neil Kennedy Recovery Clinic had to close recently.
from Marcia Gould.