Count your blessings

From the hair on my head to the love in my heart, to the joys in my life, to the woes of my past…there is not a day that goes by that I do not count the many blessings in my life. Canadian Author Janette Oak once said, "Blessings sometimes show up in unrecognizable disguises." No truer words were ever spoken. Some of you may be experiencing challenges, but it is during these challenging times that you have the opportunity to shine and realize the blessings you truly do have in your life. Those "unrecognizable disguises" are more often than not small blessings that you take for granted. If you have your health, then you are already more blessed than many.

Big blessings come in small packages that are easy to miss

There are added small gifts in life that many of us have but do not acknowledge as much as we should. For example, how many times has something "challenging" happened in your life? Did you learn from the experience? Did you find any value in the experience? Before you answer that question, ask yourself this: How did the experience shape your future? A lot of times, it is through little hidden blessings like life's challenges that promote personal and spiritual growth in life. Many times, we learn how to survive and thrive based on the events we encounter in life.

The same holds true for the blessings of family, friends and colleagues. We may not always agree with one another, but it is through these deep bonds that keep our minds sharp, our hearts passionate, and our spirits connected. We are our brother's keeper and though we may not always see eye to eye, it is through compassion that we gain our greatest insights and blessings in life.

How about the job you may not have gotten… would you consider that a blessing? Allow me to explain. There are many paradoxes in life. What if you had landed the job and then on your first day to report to duty, something terrible happened to you along the way during the drive there? Or an alternative reality may be that you are working fine at the job for months but then something happens to the building while you are in it? I believe everything is as it should be - that is the blessing of being thankful for whatever the Universe may give or take away from you.

Learn to be thankful for the blessings that keep you on the straight and narrow path. After all, it is your life journey that serves to perfect your tomorrows with as many lessons necessary so you can reach your destiny. That being said, you, nor I, know precisely what tomorrow (or the rest of the day for that matter) will bring. We can only live one day at a time, and embrace each moment as if it were our last. The unrecognizable blessings we often discount are those we completely overlook, but these unseen blessings may have possibly saved us from ourselves, or worse.

Joan Marie Ambrose -- Author, Creative Writer, Motivational Speaker

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