When I was younger, I believed one should feel grateful in order to give thanks. To do anything else seemed somehow dishonest or fake — a kind of “preposterously ridiculous” insincerity that one should reject. Considering the fact that we are in a universe that seemed to hurt for no reason and living in a world where children die of hunger every day, it just doesn’t make sense. When it comes to being grateful and thankful, it’s best to be emotionally authentic, right? Wrong. Building the best life does not require fealty to feelings in the name of authenticity, but rather rebelling against negative impulses and acting right even when we don’t feel like it. In a nutshell, acting grateful can actually make you grateful.
Being grateful is a choice. Some make the mistake of waiting to feel grateful rather than choosing to be grateful. Today, you are alive. You have the opportunity to enjoy your abundance, right your wrongs, cling to your hopes, rekindle your dreams or re-live your passions. You and me, we are alive and so be grateful we must and truly live.
The gift of life is the best gift we’re given every single day.
THOUGHT AVENUE: Speak your mind 
Thanks for sharing. Gratitude is an action. When I choose to be in a state of gratitude I experience my day differently. It is definitely a topic worth exploring.
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the subject Ali. Gratitude widens and deepens our awareness too.
You’re right, it is definitely a topic worth exploring. Have you written one about gratitude?
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I don’t remember. I will look back through my writing and explore that as a possibility. Keep sharing your light.
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Will do. Thank you, Ali!
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Absolutely! I have observed that a person who is grateful for all things in life, big or small is more happier and radiates that happiness to people around him/her.
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We do share the same observation Radhika 🙂 Being grateful is a failproof key to being happy. Wish you a blessed day! 😊
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Gratefulness is certainly a choice. Even though there is so much mess going on in the world today, we still can be grateful for at least one thing. Great post Andrei.
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Thanks you so much, Catherine! Yes, gratefulness is certainly a choice, in fact a choice that must be practiced in a consistent basis in order to be fully characterized and enjoyed.
Thank you for dropping by and for the heartwarming feedback 🙂 Appreciate it.
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You’ve made such very good points on this post Andrei! Gratitude is something that I force myself to practice everyday…not force myself because I I do no’t want to, but to be consistent in being grateful rather…Overtime, it gets easier. Gratefulness somehow makes us have a more positive outlook in life- perhaps this is the reason why grateful people are happy people. 🙂
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I couldn’t agree with you more, Nina! You’re absolutely right in saying that grateful people are happy people 😃 And that gratefulness has a way of “clinging” unto our being the more we practice it.
Thank you for the generous comment!
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You hit the nail on the head ::: “waiting to feel grateful rather than choosing to be grateful”. Love this! 😍
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Thank you crazyloveparent for dropping by and for the warm comment 😃 I noticed your blog through your “like” on my comment on someone else’s blog post. I visited your blog and read through some of your posts and I was encouraged by your kindness and generously of heart! Your posts reflect your faith and convictions as a Christian, it’s so encouraging and uplifting to read them. I’ll be following hopefully for more 🙂
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Thank you for stopping by, Andrei! I am happy my posts have touched your heart. Thanks for the follow. I am happy to have found and started following your blog as well. It is also filled with wonderful, inspirational writing. ☺️ I look forward to reading more!
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Same here 🙂 Keep it up!
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Another awesome post that helps me with my current situation. Thank you for sharing!
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Glad it helped 😄 Thanks for dropping by too.
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Definitely, the more ‘difficult’ side of an easy life is being grateful! It matters and it counts!
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That is so true. I couldn’t agree with you more 😊
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Hi Liz! I’m so happy the post likewise resonates with you 😃
And I agree with you on saying that our feelings change, in fact like shifting shadows by the minutes.
Thank you…
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I love this sentence!
“Building the best life does not require fealty to feelings in the name of authenticity, but rather rebelling against negative impulses and acting right even when we don’t feel like it.”
That is how I live most of my days. We need to do actions that promote a better life for ourselves, no matter how we feel. Cause feelings change all the time.
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Yes, I love that sentence too! 🙂
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