Thoughts on gratitude

When I listen to the radio in the car, I most often listen to it on shuffle or scan. I get impatient with songs I don't like, commercials, and hosts who talk. I do listen to NPR when Morning Edition or All Things Considered is on. But mostly, I scan the stations, looking for that elusive something more interesting. Every now and then, in my radio station scanning, I'll stop on one of the Christian stations when they are having a discussion, and listen until I too strongly disagree with what they are saying.

Today, I stopped at a discussion of gratitude, and heard some interesting thoughts. One of the ideas was that we should be practicing the language of heaven here on earth. It was a new perspective to me on why my words and tone matter now; if I am in the habbit of being sarcastic or rude or crude, that habbit won't just go away when I die. I don't want to have to learn a new langauge when I die. Or worse yet, not be able to say anything because I can't trust myself to do it the right way. As part of the discussion on the radio, they told of a man who had the philosophy of practicing the language of heaven on earth, and who, when he was told of a church burning down, began to pray and express gratitude and praise. It reminded me of a talk by Elder David A. Bednar last year, and his story of expressing gratitude in prayer when faced with a trial.

The other idea that struck me in listening to this discussion was phrased as a question: If tomorrow I had nothing more than what I expressed gratitude for today, what would I have? I think this can apply to gratitude towards God, but it can also apply to gratitude in our other relationships, and even gratitude toward the world around us through our actions. It is what we were taught by our parents; we show gratitude for our stuff by taking care of our things. Going back to the question, I try to express gratitude for the "big things" like jobs, cars, insurance, and our home, but I don't often vocalize my gratitude for the multitude of smaller blessings that fill my life. I want to do a better job of that as part of cultivating a grateful heart.

So for today, here are five small things I am grateful for:
1. Wireless internet. It was nice to write this post on my laptop while sitting on the couch.
2. The colors purple and berry that are so in this season. They make me smile and feel warm just looking at them.
3. Cranberry limeaids at Sonic. Need I say more?
4. Easy returns at stores.
5. A camera on my cell phone. It makes shopping when Clint isn't there easier.