The 1Life Podcast with Behka White

Episode 47 - Living in Gratitude

In Episode 47 of the 1life podcast, host Behka White discusses the power of gratitude. She emphasizes that gratitude is a way of being that is independent of our circumstances. Behka shares a personal anecdote about two elderly women she knew, one who lived in gratitude and contentment despite her hardships, and another who lived in bitterness. This experience taught Behka the importance of choosing gratitude as an antidote to bitterness. She references a quote by Melody Beattie, highlighting the transformative power of gratitude in various aspects of life. Behka concludes by inviting listeners to embrace gratitude as a daily practice, encouraging them to "put down the bottle of bitterness and raise the glass of gratitude."

Broadcast on:: 27 Aug 2024
Audio Format:: other

Welcome to the One Life podcast with Becca White. I am your host and this is episode 47, Living in Gratitude. Today we have a quote from Melody Beatty. She says quote, "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." End quote. I believe living in gratitude is a way of being. Gratitude is one of those things that happens solely inside of us. It has nothing to do with our circumstances. If we live in gratitude, we will always have an abundance of things to be grateful for. If we don't live in gratitude, we will have a scarcity of things to be grateful for and we will lose connection to the things that we do have. When I was a young mother, I had the opportunity to regularly visit a couple of older women, probably in their late 70s or early 80s, for the couple years that we lived in the area. I was so excited for their friendship because I saw them as having so much wisdom and I wanted to learn from both of them. They lived in similar houses and raised similar families. The first woman was a widow. She was such a pleasure to visit with. She was open and there was a softness to the wrinkles around her eyes, especially when she smiled. She spoke of her late husband tenderly and shared about her children and the beautiful life that she had lived thus far. She had a spirit of peace and contentment. This was in stark contrast to the other woman. Again, similar appearances, but there was a hardness to the lines in her face. She spoke negatively about her life, her children, and her husband who was still living. She had a spirit of unhappiness about her. To me, one seemed grateful and the other one bitter. Of course, I know it's not fair to judge the two women. I learned so much from both of them and I am grateful for each of their friendships. And I will say, I knew which woman I wanted to pattern my life after, but I haven't always been able to be grateful. There have been times in my life when I have been bitter. Bitterness leaves no place for gratitude. In one of my bitter spells, I heard the council to be grateful in every circumstance, to put down the bottle of bitterness and raise the glass of gratitude. This is a visual reminder that has stuck with me. I have found that gratitude is the antidote for bitterness. Gratitude is the antidote for many things. To restate Melody Beatty's quote, she said quote, gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. End quote. Today's invitation is to live in gratitude. Put down the bottle of bitterness and raise the glass of gratitude. We only get one life. Let's make it our best.