Gratitude

They say that we become two kinds of people as we age.  We can become grumpy and resentful, or filled with gratitude.  It’s not just about aging.  Life gives us all sorts opportunities to be resentful of everything, whereas gratitude seems to be a practice that we have to work at a bit harder.    It’s easy (and probably understandable) to resent the person who cut you off in traffic or upstreamed you in the grocery store just as the cashier opened up a new checkout line.  It is easier to imagine the Woman Who Cut You Off stopped on the side of the road with four flat tires a quarter mile down the road as you zip by – grinning.  It is much harder to practice gratitude, to be grateful that the she didn’t hit you, that she didn’t hit anyone else, that you are not as pressured as she apparently is.  It is easy to imagine all kinds of deserved consequences to the Upstream Guy -groceries crashing and breaking on the ground as he loads them into his car.  It is much harder to practice gratitude, to be grateful that you have money for food, that Upstream Guy has money for food, that there is actually food available for the two of you to purchase.  I once read a neat little book entitled: From resentment to Gratitude, by Henry Nouwen.  I think that book sums up the journey.  There is plenty in life’s journey to be resentful about—misfortunes can hit.  People and countries can behave poorly, but resentment can be transformed into gratitude.  It is a difficult path, but I think we all want to be one of those grateful people.  Grateful is the way to go  – it’s healthier, lighter, more fun, productive and lasting.

Thank you, dear customers, for the chance to exercise our craft and provide for our families, for the chance to experience satisfaction on a daily basis from seeing a space transformed.  Thank you for the privilege of being in your home, for the chance to serve another human being.  We are grateful for the chance to make your life a little easier, and your space a little more renewing and refreshing.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Bill and The Larkin Painting Company Team