Give Thanks at All Times - Good & Bad

It is really easy to be thankful when things are going well.  But how do we stay thankful when they are not?   It may be difficult, but practicing gratitude at all times is one of the best ways to make it through setbacks and disappointments.  It keeps us hopeful and reminds us that we made it through hard times before.  It helps us to see that life is still good. Circumstances may be negative, but they can change.  People may hurt us, but we can heal.  Losses may never be recovered, but we can gain something new.  The more we practice gratitude for what is good, right, beautiful and hopeful, the more real it becomes to us.  So whether we are going through some bad times or the best of times, it is always appropriate and empowering to be thankful.

Following is a poem that helps remind us why we can be thankful at all times.   

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire,
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful in the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful when you have limitations
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge
Because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary
Because it means you’ve made a difference.

It is easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful during the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful in the midst of your troubles
and they can become your blessings.

~ Author unknown. 

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity... It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~Melody Beattie

If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul. ~Rabbi Harold Kushner

A thankful person is thankful under all circumstances. A complaining soul complains even if he lives in paradise. ~Baha’u’llah

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. ~Epictetus


Find the good and praise it. ~Alex Haley


Give thanks for a little and you will find a lot. ~Hausa of Nigeria


If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness. It will change your life mightily. ~Gerald Good


Copyright © 2010 Krystal Kuehn, New Day Counseling. All Rights Reserved.


Krystal Kuehn, MA, LPC, LLP, NCC is a psychotherapist, author, teacher & musician. She is the cofounder of New Day Counseling, a family couples counseling, children therapy and teenage counseling center, BeHappy4Life.com, an award-winning, self-help and inspirational site where you can find hundreds of free resources, insights & words of inspiration to change your life, and Baby-Poems.com where you can find beautiful baby poems, baby quotes, cute sayings & baby videos that will touch your heart & increase your joy & gratitude for the children you love & enjoy! Check out Krystal's other blogs: Be Your Best blog, Baby Poems blog and Words of Inspiration blog!



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Give Thanks for Simple Acts of Kindness

I am thankful... for simple acts of kindness

Did you ever go shopping and get a survey request with your receipt?  Most people don't take the time to give their input unless it's especially positive or negative.  Well, I had one of those especially positive experiences yesterday.  I was shopping for some kitchenware and was so impressed and thankful with the help I received from one of the employees.  He went over and above to be helpful and even gave me some good tips.  Did you know that you can take off those stickers glued on your purchases that won't peel off by simply using a blow dryer.  I never knew this.  I thought goo gone was my most viable option.  Anyways, this employee gave me that tip and it worked.  When I peeled the stickers off so effortlessly, I couldn't help but think of Ivan.  I was thankful for people like him.  Then I thought about how the simplest little things can leave an impression on us and improve our lives in some way.  I also thought about Ivan's kindness and warmth that was not only evident in his service, but also in his loving and joyful personality.

Simple acts of kindness keep people in our hearts and memories.  It's almost like they keep us connected to them in a loving and positive way.  Did you ever come across someone whom you have long forgotten and they tell you they still remember the words you said to them long ago that really helped them, or the gift you gave that they really appreciated, or what you did for them that was so helpful?  I don't think we even know how much we touch other people's lives and bless them.  Simply being kind, helpful, loving, encouraging, and thankful has lasting impact!  I am so thankful for beautiful people who come across my path.  I am thankful that I can be the recipient of other people's kindness and love.  I am thankful that every day I have the opportunity to express my gratitude and appreciation to others and bless their day.  I am thankful that I can make a difference by the smallest acts of kindness.  I am thankful that kindness and love bring us together and fill us with lasting gratitude and appreciation.

Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings. ~William Arthur Ward



Can you see the holiness in those things you take for granted–a paved road or a washing machine? If you concentrate on finding what is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul. ~ Rabbi Harold Kushner

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us. ~Albert Schweitzer


There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. ~Albert Einstein








Copyright © 2010 Krystal Kuehn, New Day Counseling. All Rights Reserved.


Krystal Kuehn, MA, LPC, LLP, NCC is a psychotherapist, author, teacher & musician. She is the cofounder of New Day Counseling, a family couples counseling, children therapy and teen counseling center, BeHappy4Life.com, an award-winning, self-help and inspirational site where you can find hundreds of free resources, insights & words of inspiration to change your life, and Baby-Poems.com where you can find beautiful baby poems, baby quotes, cute sayings & baby videos that will touch your heart & increase your joy & gratitude for the children you love & enjoy! Check out Krystal's other blogs: Be Your Best blog, Baby Poems blog and Words of Inspiration blog!

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Give Thanks for Autumn

I am thankful... for autumn

Autumn is a beautiful season.  As much as I enjoyed riding my bike through trails all summer long, I found nothing quite as beautiful as going through the same trails during autumn.  Seeing the leaves change colors, breathing the fresh cool air, and hearing the crunch and rustle of leaves beneath my feet with every step I took was truly invigorating.  Autumn is like no other season in its magnificent beauty, its mosaic of tone, color, rhythym and harmony. It is a truly magical and musical experience!  I am thankful for autumn.  I am thankful that it offers so much for me to appreciate and enjoy.  I am thankful that it is a time to reflect, keep warm and remember that life is full of riches, wonder, and spendor!


There is music in the meadows, in the air --
Autumn is here;
Skies are gray, but hearts are mellow,
Leaves are crimson, brown, and yellow;
Pines are soughing, birches stir,
And the Gipsy trail is fresh beneath the fir.
There is rhythm in the woods, and in the fields,
Nature yields:
And the harvest voices crying,
Blend with Autumn zephyrs sighing;
Tone and color, frost and fire,
Wings the nocturne Nature plays upon her lyre.
~ William Stanley Braithwaite, Lyric of Autumn


When the trees their summer splendor
Change to raiment red and gold,
When the summer moon turns mellow,
And the nights are getting cold;
When the squirrels hide their acorns,
And the woodchucks disappear;
Then we know that it is autumn,
Loveliest season of the year.
~ Carol L. Riser, Autumn

I am rich today with autumn's gold,
All that my covetous hands can hold;
Frost-painted leaves and goldenrod,
A goldfinch on a milkweed pod,
Huge golden pumpkins in the field
With heaps of corn from a bounteous yield,
Golden apples heavy on the trees
Rivaling those of Hesperides,
Golden rays of balmy sunshine spread
Over all like butter on warm bread;
And the harvest moon will this night unfold
The streams running full of molten gold.
Oh, who could find a dearth of bliss
With autumn glory such as this!
~ Gladys Harp

Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower. ~Albert Camus

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all. ~Stanley Horowitz

Autumn asks that we prepare for the future —that we be wise in the ways of garnering and keeping. But it also asks that we learn to let go—to acknowledge the beauty of sparseness. ~Bonaro W. Overstreet

Fallen leaves lying on the grass in the November sun bring more happiness than the daffodils. ~Cyril Connolly




Krystal Kuehn, MA, LPC, LLP, NCC is a psychotherapist, author, teacher & musician. She is the cofounder of New Day Counseling, a family couples counseling, children counseling and teen counseling center, BeHappy4Life.com, an award-winning, self-help and inspirational site where you can find hundreds of free resources, insights & words of inspiration to change your life, and Baby-Poems.com where you can find beautiful baby poems, baby quotes, cute sayings & baby videos that will touch your heart & increase your joy & gratitude for the children you love & enjoy! Check out Krystal's other blogs: Be Your Best, Baby Poems blog and Words of Inspiration blog!



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