GRATITUDE. PRACTICE IT.
Gratitude is a tough one. It’s just so easy to take things for granted.
Until they’re gone.
We never appreciate good health as much as when we’ve got the flu. Or a fully functioning body until a popped rib.
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone?
-Joni Mitchell
Do yourself a favor- be grateful. Now.
You get to train Jiu Jitsu. Be grateful that you’re healthy enough to do it- which is miraculous in itself. Be grateful that you’ve made the right amount of good decisions in your life to have the resources and stability to be on the mat.
I’m not as flexible as she is.
If only I were ten years younger.
I can’t train as much as he does.
Stop. You’re here now, appreciate it. Make it count.
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose…
-Dr. Seuss
Let’s go a step further.
Not only are you healthy enough to train this amazing martial art, you were self aware enough to seek it out. Do you know how rare that is?
Intuition prodded you forward, and you heeded the call. Most would have ignored it.
You made the decision to pursue this difficult thing, which turned out to be much harder than you originally thought. And instead of turning tail, you became enthralled and chose to dive deeper.
And the deeper you went, the more difficult it became. And still, you persisted.
And now, today, you realize that the reason you stay is a world away from why you started. This very difficult, very different thing called Jiu Jitsu gives us a little slice of heaven a few times each week.
Let’s be grateful we had the self-awareness, curiosity, insight, and courage to start.