I've often read that one of the healthiest emotions we can enjoy is gratitude. And I've met a lot of people in our program over the past 30 years who ask what they have to be grateful for. They're living in a halfway house or recovery program. They might have a roommate they don't get along with. Their wardrobe sucks. They don't have a car or a job. They can't even afford a cell phone.
And I tell them that one way to develop gratitude is to do something for others. We can always find someone who has less than we do if we simply look. And sometimes they look at me like I'm a little off-center. But other times they seem to want to hear more. And so, I share with them what I do to generate gratitude.
For example, this weekend a group of us who are in recovery decided to take a few carloads of food, clothing, and water to Phoenix, which we would distribute around the Phoenix homeless shelter. We ended up with a caravan of about six cars and pickups loaded with bottled water, toiletries, bag lunches, new socks, underwear, tee shirts, and other clothing items.
Outside of the shelter there are an estimated six to seven hundred homeless living in makeshift encampments along the nearby streets. As soon as we pulled to the curb we attracted groups of homeless who came over to see what we had.
As we handed out water and clothing we received many thank yous and other expressions of gratitude. Albeit, there were those wanted a certain color of socks or tee shirts. But generally, they were all grateful for whatever they got from us.
Once we passed out all of what we had we headed back to Mesa. And most of us talked of the sense of euphoria we had at being able to help a fellow human being on such a basic level.
So the message today is to reach out to those who need help. Give them an encouraging word. Give them food or clothing. Do something to better their lives.
Your life will be better for it.
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