Gratitude

                As a continuing assignment for my Book of Mormon class, I have been working to develop the Christlike attribute of gratitude.  I thought I was a fairly grateful person, but I felt the prompting to work on gratitude after much prayer and pondering.  This is the second month I have been working on developing gratitude.  I decided to do so by doing the following things:   (1) I will continue to offer at least one prayer of gratitude daily.  (2) I will continue to keep a journal of at least three examples of gratitude each day.  (3) I will give at least one genuine compliment every day.  (4) I will look for something positive in every negative situation.  (5) I will take time each day to “smell the roses.”

                The longer I work on developing the Christlike attribute of gratitude, the more I realize how much I need to work on it.  I thought I was showing gratitude previous to this project, but now I realize I was not.  I worked daily on all my goals for this time period but struggled with some more than others.

                I was pleased when I realized that my thoughts about other people are more positive than negative.  I think about complimenting people more than I actually say the nice words.  This is sometimes caused by the circumstances of needing to be silent and then forgetting when that need is past.  I know that I made several people feel better by simply saying something nice.  A couple of weeks ago I walked into the instruction room of the temple and sat down behind a younger woman with pretty hair.  I leaned over and gave her the compliment.  It surprised but pleased her.  This past Sunday the Young Women were singing in sacrament meeting, and I noticed that one of them looked particularly beautiful.  I caught her as soon as possible after the meeting was over to tell her of my thoughts, and she beamed.  I have surprised complete strangers with compliments and saw appreciation in their faces.

                I improved my experience of teaching Primary by looking for the positive in dealing with the young children and by making the effort to appreciate their sweet spirits.  One day I mentioned that my cell phone is old, and one little girl said that I had an old telephone because I am old.  I assured her that my phone is not as old as I am, but I smile every time I think of her words.

                I now have greater appreciation for my prayers of gratitude.  These prayers were a struggle for me when I first started the project, but they have become blessings.  When I am having a bad day, I can improve it immensely simply by offering a prayer of gratitude.  I was awake early one morning and wondered what I could do to get back to sleep quickly.  I decided to offer a prayer of gratitude and was soon asleep.  I have repeated that practice several times.  Expressing gratitude is a great way to find peace and comfort for myself and to spread joy to other people.