Gratefully Accepting Life

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. ~Epictetus

I finally escaped the city. For the first three decades of my life, I had never spent the May long-weekend in the city. As a child it was a weekend to go camping with my family. As a teenager it became May two-four, and it was a weekend of unsupervised partying. As an adult that theme continued, but not necessarily with my chosen friends, since I spent all the summers of my twenties planting trees in the spring. For the last decade I have lived in Vancouver, and never left the lower mainland. I was able to get up the coast (to Gibson's Landing) for the long weekend for the 30th NA Spring Clean (the Dirty Thirty). The weather pretty much sucked the whole weekend. I didn't know that many people. The night sky wasn't as awesome as I hoped due to not being far enough away from Van. It could have been easy to be resentful and not all that pleased with it all. But what would be the point of being unhappy with my actions?



resent - to feel or show displeasure or indignation at (a person, act, remark, etc.) from a sense of injury or insult.

I think that being grumpy over what wasn't going my way could best be described as resentful. Resenting the weather. Resenting myself for doing something I am not enjoying. Resenting people who are or are not there. All sorts of things. Resenting the weather is in my opinion the height of self-obsession. To be insulted by nature, as if it has acted intentionally against my own plans is just hilarious. Funnier yet is that I have had such resentments. Believing that the Universe has intentionally created me just to torment me for the sake of making me suffer. What a belief to have!

Today my life is much easier because instead of resenting what I don't have (or those things I have that I don't like or want) I am grateful for all that I have and all that I have experienced. Even the things that I don't like, I am also grateful for. It is all a part of what makes me who I am. I like being me, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. There have been some rough patches for sure, but I really don't know of anyone who can't say that.

grateful - an appreciative attitude for what one has received

appreciate - To recognize the quality, significance, or magnitude of
appreciation - thankful recognition; clear perception or recognition
attitude - A relatively stable and enduring predisposition to behave or react in a characteristic way

Despite the weather and my own still "untreated" sense of alienation, I really did enjoy myself on the weekend. Even though I forgot to bring blankets and it was really cold. I made some new friends, got enjoy some gorgeous scenery, and got to take a short vacation from my not-so-short holiday that I call my recovery. I don't have to look very hard to find reasons to be grateful for it all. Especially since it was friends who paid my way.I myself prefer happiness over misery, but that's a personal preference.

I read recently that worrying is "praying for the worst to happen". I find a grateful attitude helps me to accept my life as it is, and to remember to "pray for the best". It has been my experience that I get what I ask for. So be careful what you ask for!


—Synonyms for Gratitude
2. Appreciate, esteem, prize, value imply holding something in high regard. To appreciate is to exercise wise judgment, delicate perception, and keen insight in realizing the worth of something. To esteem is to feel respect combined with a warm, kindly feeling. To value is to attach importance to a thing because of its worth (material or otherwise). To prize is to value highly and cherish.


As each day comes to us refreshed and anew, so does my gratitude renew itself daily. The breaking of the sun over the horizon is my grateful heart dawning upon a blessed world. ~Terri Guillemets