Grateful for my blessings

Yesterday morning I took Hayley to the doctor to get her immunisations. The appointment was set for 9:10am. Of course, there is the usual wait for the doctor... and this time I had a toddler to entertain and a newborn to take care of without any help. Fun! We finally got in to the doctor only for him to fill out a form for the nurses... somewhere in the ten minute wait in line at reception, just wanting to give them the form for the nurse I'll admit I was... less than happy. I may have started getting twitchy and I was certainly muttering under my breath at the ridiculousness of waiting 40 minutes for the doctor to say 'give this to the nurse' and then standing around for another 10 minutes while staff seemed to be taking their sweet time... -CUT-


This is the moment where I realised I was complaining about my blessings. I remembered watching a DVD with John Bytheway. He said that he loved the example of Nephi, who didn't even complain about his problems (remember those murderous brothers of his) and he talked about how we sometimes complain about our blessings... the things we have that we don't think are enough... the car is old, the house is small, the food isn't to our taste. When there are people who would think, "Wow, you have a car! You have a home! You have good food! 


All of a sudden I had an increased appreciation and clearer vision of what it was that I had here. Here in the wonderful country I can take my daughter to competent medical professional... I can have my children immunised against life threatening illnesses, and when they are ill they can be treated. To top that off, I didn't have to pay a cent for this - I think we have an amazing health care system and I'm so grateful for it.


Some people think our medical system / government is flawed and perhaps they're right, but it definitely tops the experience I could be having in many other countries. I'm grateful that if my babies are sick that they can get the proper treatment and that the likelihood is that they will recover full health. I cannot imagine what it would be like to live in fear that they might come in contact with a serious disease and not have the means to cure them.


Of course, this can all be applied in many aspects of life. I begin to wonder if I (and/or the population in general) have a tendency to wish for more and don't recognise the bounty that we have.


So this is my commitment today: look on the bright side, believe that the glass is half full, be grateful for blessings big and small. I will make a greater effort to see how things bless my life rather than how they could be improved.

What are you grateful for?