An attitude of graditude is a matter of choice..........................................

I feel a little like I am selling out when I use someone else's words for a post, but as they say, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," so I thought I would share the better part of this article I came across. It states what I have come to not only believe, but practice over the past couple of years, and I couldn't say it better myself. Comments in red are my thoughts on the article.

For a little background, Victoria was a mom, sick with many alergies, with an over-weight, out of shape husband, and two couch potato children, one which developed very serious diabeties. In her plight to save her son from a life of insulin injections she discovered a raw food diet. Within weeks of eating only raw food her son's blood sugar levels dropped from being in the 400s (VERY life threatening) to normal. They have been on a totally raw diet for the past ten years (or more). Read more about the family on their web site if you are interested. I think it is really neat how a mother's quest to make her family healthy has not only helped many others, but also turned into a family business. Us women can do anything we put our minds to.


By: Victoria Boutenko Copyright 2006 by Victoria Boutenko. Please reference this
source when sharing this information: rawfamily.com

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of
all others.” -Cicero

When we adopt a raw food lifestyle, we may feel deprived
of our habitual pleasures, especially when we watch
others enjoying cooked delicacies that used to be our own favorites or in my case sugar and processed stuff.

We all have different perspectives on life. Some of
us feel that life is becoming increasingly more frustrating, especially
considering all the natural cataclysms and political
challenges. At the same time, others view life as a totally
beautiful and enjoyable experience. Initially, I thought that
our opinions on the fairness of life depended on the level of
our material wealth. Later, I met some poor people who were
content with their lives and wealthy persons who were deeply
upset about their lives. While watching many people caught
in a material pursuit (including myself) I developed a strong
interest in the true origins of people’s contentment in life. I
came to the conclusion that there are two opposite perspectives
on life: the materialistic perspective and the grateful perspective. Which one are you? Since I have a roof over my head and a full belly, I like to think I am the second, but (gratefully) never having been homeless, how can I know for sure?

The materialistic approach to life guarantees discontentment
and frustration, as there is no objective limit to the
acquisition of personal possessions. There is no constant
measure that could be marked as “enough.” At the same time,
only the very basic possessions that satisfy our essential needs
such as food, clothes, and shelter, can bring us a sensible feeling
of contentment. The majority of the items beyond the basic
needs convey very little enjoyment to their possessor. That is why it is up to each of us to set limits on when enough is enough, rather than let ourselves be driven to keep up with the Jones.

Contrary to this, gratefulness inevitably leads us to
becoming aware of the unlimited wealth that life holds for
every one of us. (Had my washer not broke, I would not be celebrating my ability to wash clothes hassle free with as much gratitude as I now have.) Grateful people tend to be happier, more optimistic,
more satisfied with their lives, than their less grateful
counterparts. Michael E. McCullough, a professor from Florida,
provides experimental evidence that gratitude leads to
improvements in psychological and even physical well-being.
McCullough’s groundbreaking research demonstrates
that “people who place too much emphasis on materialistic
pursuits – people for whom obtaining wealth and material
possessions takes priority over meaningful relationships,
community involvement, and spirituality – tend to be unhappy
people. In general, they are dissatisfied with their lives, and
tend to experience high levels of negative emotion. They are
at risk for a variety of mental disorders. In contrast, grateful
people – people who readily recognize the many ways in
which their lives are enriched by the benevolent actions of
others – tend to be extraordinarily happy. They experience
high levels of positive emotion and are generally satisfied
with their lives.” Hey! That is how I feel about all of you out there reading this.

Being constantly exposed to a vast variety of advertisement
and financial challenges, we may increase our materialistic
perception of life. According to McCullough’s research,
gratefulness is such a powerful approach to life that it
may reduce people’s materialistic strivings.
I invite you to apply this valuable information about
the power of gratitude to any situation in your life. Below, I
am presenting two different approaches to watching another
person consuming a cooked delicacy.

The materialistic approach:

What is that heavenly smell? Oh no! It’s pizza! Look at how
they are enjoying it. How come I am not allowed to enjoy it?
Am I a monk? They don’t look as if they are going to die. Can
it be true that I will never again in my entire life be able to
partake of such a pleasant meal? Oh, how lucky these fellows
are! I wish I could enjoy pizza now as they do! What torture,
poor me. Oh that aroma… it brings tears to my eyes. So many
of the sweetest memories come to mind, the best times. Now,
they are over. E-eh. For health reason's we have decided to limit out consumption of pizza to once a month. My youngest is counting down the days for all of us, as the big pizza event rolls around this coming weekend.

The grateful approach:

That smell is oddly familiar. Wow, pizza. I had a lot of it in
my life! More than one could dream of. Now it is time to take
care of my health. Yeah, health is my priority now. All these
people eating pizzas will be delighted to discover a healthy
diet in their time. I am grateful that I am on a healthy diet already.
I do feel a lot better. I am so glad that I will not have to
be sick again. In only fifteen minutes I will be home. What do
I have in my fridge? Those hass avocados I bought yesterday
should be perfectly ripe today. It will only take a couple of
minutes to prepare guacamole with lemon, tomatoes, and jalapeno.
Uh, my mouth is watering! I have fresh romaine lettuce,
tomatoes and a giant organic mango that will be so yummy
and nourishing. Oh, I am looking forward to my raw dinner
that will leave me feeling light and wonderful. I greatly appreciate
what the raw food diet is doing for my body and mind.
How fortunate I am! What a blessing life is. Wow! I am not at this level yet, but on a lower scale, this is exactly how I am beginning to view healthy foods in relation to not so healthy foods. I AM grateful that I am making healthy choices and enjoying them. I am extreamly grateful for the way those choices are making me feel, and the way they are positively effecting the rest of my life.

To develop a grateful attitude, we need to practice
one simple activity— notice the positive sides of events in our
lives. The very best way to do this is to keep a gratitude journal.
Buy yourself a notebook and start writing three to five
grateful notes daily. I think that we should be grateful not
only for the positive but also the negative experiences. Often,
it is the most painful events in our lives that shape the qualities
in ourselves we value most. Mmmmm... I think I might think about giving this a try.

Practicing gratitude can make your life on a raw food diet (or any healthy lifestyle change) more enjoyable and will have a positive impact on your
health, your mood, and your life in general. What do you think?