Being thankful does not mean some American-style ‘happy-clappy’ mentality. It just means not trying to always force yourself into toxic positivity, and be a bit more like our ancestors, and be happy with our lot. Everyone can be thankful when life is going well. It’s when life dumps us, that we have to find a way to be thankful for the lessons learned. If you keep getting the same things happening to you again and again, often it’s a message to take life in a different direction. And often you find that the worst times ended up preparing you to go in a different direction that ended up in a better place. You may not feel thankful now, but you will do one day!
If the only prayer you said in your whole life was ‘thank you’, that would suffice. Jay Blades
We love the book Life Lessons by Jay Blades (one of the presenters on BBC’s The Repair Shop’). This is one of the best self-help books in decades by a former fighter who only learned to read at 51. He says he recovered from his breakdown by being thankful for what he had, but he is still a hard-nut who won’t make you feel you have to chant ‘Life is getting better and better every day’!’