It's not what we have, but how we feel about what we have

I was buying pizza for dinner. [I LOVE Papa Murphy's double stuffed pizzas.] As I was waiting for my pizza to be made, I noticed a middle-aged couple come in. On a scale of 1-10, they were 2's. I noticed how they were dressed and the extra bulges they packed. Then, I noticed what really mattered. They were so sweet to each other; even standing in line together at Papa Murphy's was a time to treasure.

It reminded me of one of my young women. She was multi-talented. She played basketball, was a cheerleader, was a great cook, had a strong testimony, and had an engaging personality. We had gone on a leadership retreat to Bear Lake. As part of every leadership retreat was a testimony meeting. Her older brother was there. In his testimony, he said something disparaging about this younger sister. I can't remember it being horrible, but she was absolutely devastated. Later that night, as we tried to comfort her, she was crying uncontrollably. I had never realized that she had such low self-esteem. It was then that I realized, "It's not what we have, but how we feel about what we have that matters."

There is another thing I learned about gratitude from Young Women's. We had gone to camp to cabins in Paradise. The girls had changed to their swimsuits to tan. I remember looking at their lean, well-toned bodies and thinking, "They are all absolutely beautiful. Every one of them! Sixteen must be the pinnacle of bodily perfection." And then I thought, "I bet I was at my peak at sixteen, too. Did I realize it?" And then my thoughts kept flowing, "If that was your peak, it means you are never going to be better physically that you are right now. Do you appreciate what you have right now?"

"He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has." - Epictetus

“The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.”-Eric Hoffer