About 1 billion people cannot sign their name or read a book, 28% of children in growing countries are underweight, and 1.1 billion people do not have access to clean, drinkable water.
Gratitude is not hard when you think about how people must live in other areas of the world.
Studies have shown that practicing gratitude could increase levels of happiness by 25%.
In my Art 1 class, we are making artist journals. We are assigned chapters at a time, and the most recent chapter was based on gratitude.
My art teacher challenged us to display 5 things we are grateful for, either through paintings, quotes, pictures, or however we can creatively express our gratitude.
I'm thankful for so much, and I really wanted to display some of the things I'm most thankful for in a creative way.
Here is my list:
1. Faith
Faith means so much to me. Being able to worship God freely is truly a blessing that is easy to take for granted. Owning a Bible is a privilege, as an estimated 350 million people around the world do not have access to one on a daily basis. The organization Wycliffe is working to make Bibles available for people all around the world. More on the Wycliffe Organization here.
Here is my page for faith:
2. Life
I believe that we all have a purpose and are all important. We can all make quite an impact, so I thought I needed to display my gratitude for life in a special way.
I used the following quote on the page:
Family is so important to me. I thank God each day for my family because I don't know what I would do without them.
4. Friends
True friend are a huge blessing. I used this quote, and I feel like it sums up the meaning of friendship.
“Silences make the real conversations between friends. Not the saying, but the never needing to say is what counts.”
-Margaret Lee RunbeckHere is part of my page for friends:
I spent some time thinking about this last one. I feel like out of the five, this one is the least obvious.
5. Education
My reasoning for this is how much I take for granted walking in the school doors each morning. Not only do I take it for granted, but I sometimes complain about the work. An estimated 61 million primary school aged kids around the world will never go to school. The opportunity to learn is truly
great.
Education Statistics.
Gratitude is so important, and I believe that practicing gratitude and giving back is essential to being happy.
There is even an app to record gratitude each day.
Gratitude Journal
Leaving a Legacy Challenge:
Try to understand the many blessings you have to be thankful for, and thank God for them each day. I'm thankful for much more than the five things listed! To practice gratitude, try to go a day without complaining. It is extremely difficult, and I realized that kids around the world would feel blessed to do some of the things I complain about. Lastly, be good to people and give back.
Psalm 107:1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!
There is a Bible verse that I think of when I think gratitude: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no fickleness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17. It is easy to forget to be thankful, but being grateful for faith, life, family, friends, and education is a good way to start. As a reminder to myself to be thankful, before every prayer I say throughout the day, I say "Lord, thank you for this day."
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