Good-bye Clouds, Hello Sunshine

I have been battling the doldrums lately, and this morning I was led to something that told me why. I have been very ungrateful lately- a classic case of seeing the glass as half empty rather than as half full. I am ashamed at the time I have spent wallowing in "this could be better" and "this is very inconvenient to me" and "this is not what I had in mind" type of thinking. I should have been smiling inside, grateful for all that I have, all that I know is true, and all the love that is a part of my life because of the wonderful people I call family and friends!

I know I often need a wake up call when I find myself exploring "woe is me" territory. In a quiet moment this morning I picked up the Ensign I had near the bed and thought "hmmm, maybe I can get some directions from this." Sure enough. I read this article. While I can certainly relate to the part about being less than glamorous and carrying a laundry basket around on my hip, that wasn't the point of the story. The point of the story was that the perspective of the author was all off. Basically, being unhappy had become a habit for her.

Well, my answer was clear. I need to cultivate an attitude of gratitude. My life is what it is. I can choose to see the sunshine or the clouds. It just became so clear to me that sitting under the clouds is such a waste of time.

When I look through the lens of my camera, I look for beautiful things to photograph. This is my whole philospohy and business slogan- "celebrating the beautfiul things in life." And I'm so happy when I do it. Why am I not looking for the beautiful, when I don't have my camera in front of me as a reminder to do so? Because I've been lazy in my attitude. It's too easy to sit on my own patch of lawn and be unsatisfied. (My lawn is overdue to be mowed and has huge bare spots of red kentucky mud that stain my children's feet and my dirty my floors.) I have just known that everyone else's grass is greener and children are cleaner. (Sorry, I didn't mean to rhyme.)

Well, no more! I'm happy to be Clair today. I'm happy to have a loving husband with whom I get to celebrate 11 years tomorrow! And oh, those four amazing kids with dirty feet! I love them so much! I recorded a few more blessings in my often neglected journal today, and I vow to go back at the end of each day for the next couple of weeks or so to write something big or small for which I am grateful. I want to do this to help me get in the habit of looking for the good and recognizing all the beauty around me.

A couple of other resources have come to me today that all tie into the concept of making a habit out of seeing the good. A friend sent me an exerpt from Stephen Covey's 8th Habit about "overcoming the gravity of habit." (I'll link later if I can.) I also came across somthing that referred to the amazing story of Viktor Frankl which I read several years ago.

I lightbulb went off when I read the following comments from an article about photography project Picture Hope. A lady who recently visited two girls in Africa who have been separated from their mother said, "these people who had little food and no clean water eagerly and graciously gave, offering all that they had with joy. These kids, missing their mother, sick with very limited medical care smiled and laughed each day like any other child holding on to something unseen." In comparison, I am in much better circumstances than these two girls but am I enjoying my life like they are enjoying their lives? Something to think about.

So I am just feeling so blessed for being pointed in the right direction- for being turned away from the shadow and toward the sun. (Thanks Helen Keller.) I'm going to go out and find a pretty patch of grass with plenty of kentucky mud to photograph and get on with the wonderful day.