“All we need is to maintain an open mind and a hopeful heart.”

– Life with Hope, second edition, page 7

I like making gratitude lists. Sometimes it’s hard for me to focus on the positive, while it’s so easy to be negative. But just jotting down a couple things I’m grateful for really helps me change my perspective and attitude.

If I’m really having a tough time, sometimes all I can do is be grateful for the fact that I’m alive, and able to have emotions. Positive or negative, whether I feel numb or overstimulated. I try to embrace the ebb and flow of life.

Also I’ve come to a place in recovery where I’m learning to be grateful for the negative things I’ve been through: trauma, abuse, etc. Because I wouldn’t be where I am, who I am, today without having gone through those hardships. It seems strange to be grateful for bad things having happened, but this is my soul journey. I am meant to learn from and overcome the obstacles my higher power places in front of me.

Today, I choose to do my best to tap into positive energy. There are positive and negative energies all around me in recovery every day. Today, I will do my best to tap into the positive. I can start right now by counting my blessings.

Final thought: Higher Power, thank you for the blessings I have received in my recovery.