I never knew how much practicing gratitude and being grateful for the most simple things in life mattered. Not until I didn’t have them.
I took a downward spiral about 25 years ago, when times in my life became really dark. I lost everything: my home and my way in life. I became homeless. I stayed in some horrendous bedsits. I would wake up and the carpets were sticky. I had no access to my own bathroom. I had to share a very basic bathroom with several other people, and I had to clean it before using it. No cooker, no money, no job, no food.
I was shown some much-appreciated kindness by a man who owned a bakery. Every morning, I would go in and he would offer me the most delicious cinnamon and raisin pastries and a coffee to take back to the tiny, grotty room I called “home.” Eventually, I had to leave, as it was only a temporary 6-week stay until I found somewhere else to live, which I didn’t. I literally found myself living on the streets.
It was February and freezing. I was new to the town, so I didn’t really have friends who could lend me their sofa for the night. I had nowhere to turn. It wasn’t like nowadays where more help is available, such as food banks.
One day it was pouring down with rain, and that is when I found my darkest hour. My jeans were soaking wet, it was about 6 degrees, and I was freezing as I walked down the street drenched to the bone. I had nowhere to dry off or change my clothes. I would pass by houses and look through the windows, watching people sitting in warm homes drinking hot drinks, and I wished I could have that again for just one day. To rest my tired legs, have a hot drink, and put on warm cosy clothes.
Twenty-five years down the line, I sorted myself out. I don’t recall how I managed it, but I did. I was browsing the app store one day in my new home and found the Gratitude App, around four years ago now. Now, every hot drink, every meal I eat, every warm fluffy pair of socks I put on to sit and watch a film, I express gratitude for.
I never forget the days I walked down the street looking through windows wishing for warmth. I open the Gratitude App and put photos of cups of coffee and meals I make. Photos of beautiful walks I take, knowing I have a warm cosy home to return to. Never take anything for granted. You might lose everything one day, just like I did.
Always make time to express gratitude, because the gratitude I express every day has got me where I am today. The more grateful I am, the more good things appear in my life. I feel so blessed that I found the Gratitude App. I read back occasionally and see how far I have come in the last four years.
Being grateful truly makes your dreams come true.
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