I usually try to post each weekend, so this one is a day late. While I could pretend I was saving this topic for Memorial Day, I was honestly taking a couple of lazy days and did not sit in front of a computer long enough to write it yesterday.
During your celebrations today, I hope you can take a moment to express gratitude for those who gave their lives to protect the freedom of others. Though our world and our country are not perfect, we have the freedom to – each of us independently and together – strive to continue making this a better place today and for future generations.
Did you know? Each year on Memorial Day a national moment of remembrance takes place at 3:00 p.m. local time.
Memorial Day – History.com
Last year I was working through some confidence and self-esteem issues. It is a constant battle for me but was especially difficult at that time for a few reasons. The counselor I worked with at the time recommended Brené Brown’s material to me. Brené Brown is a psychological researcher who has done a fair portion of her work around vulnerability and gratitude.
In her video Call to Courage, she mentions discussing gratitude with people who have experienced tragedy, like a holocaust survivor, and how she felt guilty for her own complaints because of what they went through in comparison. The response was that people with normal lives – who had the privilege of NOT experiencing such tragedy – showing gratitude for that normalcy was the best thing they could do.
“…practice gratitude to honor what’s ordinary about our lives, because that is what’s truly extraordinary.”
Brené Brown
Gratitude is not guilt. It is not boasting. It is thankfulness for what you have in your life and in this moment. Thank you for stopping by and taking the time with me to recognize the sacrifices others have made and their contributions to our lives.
Tiffany Shearn 