Grateful for half a glass?

Ok, I'm feeling a little deep today. A little bit mystic. A bit 'what is it all about?'. So, please indulge me for a moment.

This morning I was feeling a little down. A little tired. A little under-appreciated. Not the filled-to-the-brim glass of positivity that I'm trying to be.

Anyway, wallowing in my 'woe is me' moment, I was listening to Conversations with Richard Fidler on the ABC, one of my most favourite radio programs [it's on ABC local radio for those in Oz who want to check it out. Also available on free podcast for those outside Oz]. Each weekday Richard talks to an interesting and intriguing person about their life, today he spoke to someone from Group 61, a not-for-profit group that helps mentally ill people. Richard made the comment: "Life is unfair, but being grateful for what you do have can help stop the negative thoughts about what's going wrong. Being grateful is such a powerful tool."

Something went off in my brain. It's so true. Even though I knew this, it's really good to be reminded of it. Life is unfair. For everyone. There is no level playing field. At some stage in life everyone will suffer hardships, big or small, but by being grateful you can change your whole focus.

Sometimes it feels good to throw yourself into woe. I some times want to have a good wallow about all the bad things that may be happening. The truth is though after this wallowing I don't feel any better, the situation hasn't changed and in all honesty other people generally aren't interested, as harsh as that sounds. Negativity feeds off negativity and things will get worse. Focus on what you do have - and let's face it, for most of us the good things in our life generally greatly outweigh the bad - and the positivity will feed and grow, squashing the bad. Be positive and people will flock to you as well. Being positive is contagious and attractive.

So on the rest of the drive I thought about all the things I'm grateful for. The really simple things that we often take for granted. My healthy gorgeous girls. My full belly. Being able to live without fear. Having a comfortable home. My health. Having people around me who love me.

Then I got a little more specific - a weekend ahead to spend precious time with my husband; a fun night out on Thursday night; a beach holiday coming up; being able to go and have a delicious meal in a good restaurant.

Now, what was I worrying about again?