It's a funny thing, gratitude. When everything is going great so many of us don't think about gratitude for their lives - I know that I fall into this category. Even more telling being gracious is something that is, for the most part, is a lost art - especially around here. In recovery one of things you learn first is that becoming gracious is part of the path of recovery. Realizing that it's about more than just you. In fact most of live is about everyone else. I remember being told "You aren't unique and you aren't special" was quite a shock for me. Of course, I didn't catch on to this basic tenement of recovery - I guess I was special - it took me several years.
Learning to say "Thank You" and "Please" had completely left my concept.
I've learned though. Through the years in recovery my first thought (most of the time) was "What's in it for me?" but rather "Sometimes in life you just have to do what you have to do".
I'm saying that I'm good at all this all the time but I did have to choose to be gracious this Thanksgiving. And I promise that it wasn't easy. But I worked through it. Or at least I think I did. You would have to ask my husband to know for sure but I know that he didn't have to remind me several times.
It's progress folks, not perfection.
