Monday, March 7, 2011

Attitude of Gratitude


Yesterday Morning I was feeling a bit sorry for myself...just one of those mornings where I was thinking about what I lack you know just a bit down in the dumps. After some prayer I picked up the conference Ensign and opened to President Monson's talk from this past general conference entitled "The Divine gift of Gratitude". In his talk president Monson quoted "the Greek philosopher Epictetus, "He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has"" later in his talk he says, "A grateful heart, then, comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives". I was thinking of how important gratitude must be for President Monson to make it the topic of his talk so I started thinking of all the things I have to be thankful for. I'm ME!!! I'm a strong, healthy, faithful disciple of Christ!
MY FAMILY!

I have an amazing family who love me, take care of me, and help to overcome my weaknesses.

My siblings are my best friends! I love them, respect them, and trust them with all my heart.

I have the cutest nephew in the world, a wonderful sister-in-law who is always willing to have us around and likes to be silly with the rest of us.
Graduations:
I graduated from BYU-I with my bachelor's degree after having so many awesome, fun, and spiritually uplifting experiences there!

I graduated with my masters degree in Occupational therapy something I love to do!
Served a mission in the NYNY SOUTH MISSION:

I served in the best mission in the world! I met so many wonderful people from all over the world! My experiences there not only strengthened my testimony of the gospel but helped make me a stronger, more caring person.

Loved so many people!

I got to see people come into the fold!

I met some of the best missionaries/people in the world!
I love nature and live where it abounds:

Family camp @ camp sierra, so beautiful!

Yosemite

Camping in the mountains near Sacramento.

Redwoods in Muir woods near SF

Camping on the coast near big sur!
I Have the scriptures and words of modern day Prophets:

I am so blessed to live in a day when these words are so easily accessible to me and from them I gain peace, inspirations, and a desire to be better.
I have a pass to DISNEYLAND:

Seriously would a gratitude list of mine be complete without Disneyland!
I have had AMAZING FRIENDS in my life, people that have changed me for the better:

People I grew up with!

Friends that have been around for as long as I can remember.

Friends that were around only for a bit.

Mixture of old friends and new.

Friends that accepted me for who I was and helped me to become who I am!

Friends who supported me like family!

Friends who became like family.

Friends who pretty much are family.

Friends who made me feel like I had my family with me. :)

Roommates who supported me even when I was bossing them.

Friends who helped make college life fun!

Friends who were there when I needed someone to lean on.

Friends who you know love you, even when you done see each other for years.

Friends who make you feel like a model.

Friends who help you get over your post mission awkward stage.

Friends who help you come up with a new definition of fun.

Friends who come into your life for a season and leave a lasting impression.

Friends who always remember to include you and make things fun!

Friends who share inside jokes and become like sisters!

Friends who help you adjust to change and become cultured.

Friends who make a random Sunday evening a party. :)

Friends who you admire and make you feel like a million dollars.

BFFs who make you laugh and who love Apolo as much as you do.

Friends who make sure you are taken care of and are always there for you.

Friends who support you and help you get through one of the hardest things you've ever done.

Friends who make a transition time, much more fun.

Friends who even after 10 years, or 25, are still the best.
I'm a Griffith:

These folks are amazing and so fun to be around
Every once in awhile Dreams really do come true:
Due to some good friends, I got to swim in the neptune pool at hearst castle.
I have access to some amazing MUSIC:

In addition to CDs and my I-pod which enable me to listen to some great tunes all the time. I've been to some awesome concerts including Joe Nichols. :)
Opportunities to serve:
Serving others makes you feel good and I'm often given opportunities to serve others and be uplifted others.
I'm part of a legacy of girls:
My mom is one of 3 girls, My sisters and I make 3 and my cousins are 3. I love these girls and the strong women we are becoming due to the great women who have come before.
I live in a beatiful place:

My Bestie and I at the beach for my b-day.
I'm part of this awesome family:
I grew up here:


I get to go to the Temple often:

I love to be in the temple and feel the peaceful spirit that abides there, to be reminded of my promises, and to remember that families can be together forever.
I have so much to be thankful for! Thanks for letting me share.

6 comments:

Dione said...

I love this post :)

Myriah Cohen said...

Wow Tara, that was amazing! Did you do some type of digitization of all your pictures recently?

Good work on the post, yo. It's good to be BFF. So, how are we going to meet Apolo?

Hillary Richards said...

What a sweet post, it is so easy to see how blessed you are and why you are so amazing! That was a awesome talk that really helps you put things into prospective :-)

Brianna said...

You are amazing. And so blessed. Thanks for showing me how to look on the bright side. We really are so increadibly blessed!

mgriffithcine said...

This is an amazing post. I loved you so much, thank you for sharing all of these thing with us.

Unknown said...

Tara! I know it's been forever, but I absolutely loved reading your post. It reminded me of all the things in my life I am grateful for. Thanks for your wonderful example to me.