“Maybe you’re just like my mother. She’s never satisfied.” If you know anything about Prince, you’ll recognize the aforementioned line from his song “When Doves Cry.” A conversation with a co-worker this morning made me think about this lyric. Prince has a point. Like the mother in “When Doves Cry,” oftentimes we’re never satisfied. I took a moment today to assess my gratitude level. Do I have more ‘tude than gratitude? Do I whine, complain, and roll my eyes at the least of inconveniences? If I get honest with myself, on a gratitude scale of one to ten, I’m probably a five. That number surprised me, because I actually thought I was a very grateful person. But when I reflected on my overall attitude, I’m really just a five and that’s unacceptable.
God has truly blessed me and that’s no cliché. It’s real. Twenty years ago, I was living in a one room dive, driving a hooptie, and working for minimum wage. I spent most of my days thinking about myself and what I was gonna wear to the club and who was gonna buy me a drink. I was disconnected from God and my true self. It took me hitting bottom to get a clue and to get my life together. Since that time, my former self and life seems like a dream—no, actually more like a nightmare. God has since blessed me with a wonderful husband, a beautiful home, a reliable car, a good job, and good friends and family. More importantly, I am spiritually connected and now know the importance of being there for others. I have to remind myself from time-to-time, how far I’ve come. If it doesn’t get any better than this, I should have no complaints.
I want my gratitude level to soar to the point that I don’t sweat the small stuff. I don’t want to huff and puff when I get caught by the traffic light. Instead, I want to smile at the thought of having a car. No eye rolling, when I drop my cell phone. Only big smiles for being able to afford one. Cease with the head shaking at the bumper-to-bumper traffic. Only gladitude (new word…okay it was until I just looked it up on the Internet. Wow, there ain’t nothin’ new under the sun...I mean great minds think alike.) for having a job to go to. No more complaining about having to clean the house, wash clothes, and buy groceries, but cheers for having a home, clothes and food. No more yelping when paying bills. Only thanks for having the money to pay them. No more crying about low book sales. Praises to the Most High for giving me the ability to write and follow my passion. I’m sure you get my point.
Yes, I want to increase my gladitude level! I know it’s easier said than done, but in the words of Nike—Just do it! Alretha.