Thankfulness can give you a new perspective and lead you to see that something you felt was unfair in life actually isn't that bad and can be turned into a positive experience you can learn something for. Anorexia, for example, is a horrible mental illness that I wouldn't wish my worst enemy to have to go through. However, having had it, I can't go back and make it never happen. It's how I respond to it now that will make all the difference.
I could either choose to feel sorry for myself and cry in a corner for years about how hard my life is and how tough my struggles are or I could take this experience as an opportunity to learn new things about myself and to become accepting of who God made me to be. I also thankful that anorexia has lede me to develop a strong compassion for those suffering, especially with a mental illness and has given me a passion for the medical field (not sure whether I will pursue it or not though, still pretty keen on a business career...).
Back to the topic of this post, five things I am really grateful for and why are:
1. My family- sounds cliche but without them I would be dead right now, and that's not a joke, because I almost was with them (not their fault though, they had pretty much no idea what was going on). My parents have stuck with me through many gruelling months of weight gain and loss and upset and my siblings have always been there to have fun with (although at times my relationship with them hasn't been great due to anorexia)
2. To live in Australia- Australia is the best place to live in the world by a mile. We have sunshine, freedom, fun and a love of lifestyle and family :) the relaxed Aussie outlook on life makes me smile and having the beach close by is just the best!
3. To live somewhere with a great health system- I really owe the government a lot... Considering they paid for my whole hospital stay ($18,000) when I pretty much put myself there (not exactly true I know but I feel so guilty sometimes...)and have provided us with some financial support for therapy etc I am really glad I live near where there was a government funded inpatient program so my parents didn't have to fork out loads of cash.
4. To live without the fear of war- in so many countries in the world there are wars and war threats and I would hate to have to live always watching my back in case there was a landmine under my feet or a bomb in my corner shop. Australia has apparently had a few terrorist threats recently but I think for the most part we're pretty safe (the media always exaggerates things)
5. For being alive! (This one is fairly self-explanatory) :P
It's storming outside at the moment, and I love the the feeling of being warm inside and looking out :)
^ earlier this afternoon
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