"When we are no longer able to change a situation... We are challenged to change ourselves" ~ VIKTOR FRANKL

Many of us spend our days looking to others and thinking if only "they" would change, my life would be better, without realizing that life isn't about changing others to fit our needs. If it seems that those around you are in need of drastic change, consider the fact that it might be you that needs the change, not them.

Refusing to accept your part in creating the conditions of your life is no different than refusing to change to clock from daylight savings time to standard time and then lamenting the fact that those around you are never on time.

So often, I hear others lamenting the fact that the world around them is filled with ungrateful, spiteful people who work diligently to make "their" life miserable--yet, never realizing that their dissatisfaction with others is merely a reflection of their inner selves.

If it seems that those around you are unappreciative or lack the compassion you desire in life, try expressing appreciation and compassion in your own life. You may be surprised by how much others appear to change.

Today, I am grateful for the soft rays of morning sun, for fresh clean air to breathe, and for the dew that sparkles on the grass. I am grateful for the hoot of the owl, the dance of leaves in the breeze, and soft, cool grass against bare feet. I am grateful for the brilliant sunsets, proud tall mountains and flowing fields of hay.

I am grateful for healthy food to eat, for clean water to drink and for caterpillars who creep along the garden wall. I am grateful for the sound of the lone dog's bark in the distance, for wispy smoke from wood stoves that settles heavy in the air, and the smell of leaves that forewarns of fall. 

I am grateful for my family who makes me proud, for a husband who supports my work and children who have grown strong and always stand for what they know is right. I am grateful for bothers and sisters, for my parents who have gone before me and for extended family that makes me who I am today.

I am grateful for the people in my life that challenge my thinking, for those who lend a helping hand and those who serve as examples sharing their goodness and kindness with the world. I am grateful for artists who capture life's beauty, for musicians who touch the soul and for writers who bring the word to life.

And, I am grateful to you, dear reader, as you stop to share my day. May you be the change that is needed in your life as you go forward in the direction of your dreams.