Gr - Attitude

This year marks eighteen years of marriage for me. As I look back it seems like only yesterday that we were married. Looking back I also notice that some of the other couples that started out at the same time (and a few who were ahead of us) are no longer together.

Being the analyst that I am I couldn't help wondering why it is that we are still here, happy and looking forward to the next eighteen and they are not. In many of those cases I can clearly see that they forgot...

They forgot about the happy times and the fun things they did together. They forgot about how lonely and out of place they were before they found each other. They even forgot that even during the bad times they still had each other.

Looking at my own behavior during the past 18 years I can see that during the times I wasn't having fun, that it was a memory problem for me as well. I had forgotten all about the good and was focusing on what I considered to be bad. I forgot all about what I did have and focused mainly on the things I didn't.

I am learning that when I remember the good times and when I focus on what I have, I actually become more grateful. Instead of just dwelling on the negative I flood my thoughts with memories of all of the good and again I am grateful.

These past 18 years I have had to remind myself to make the choice to be grateful and to remember the good, and for the most part I do. There are however days when I slip up...I know that I should remain grateful...but the truth is...

sometimes I forget