Letter: Gratitude-Just the Beginning Of My Journey

Dear Readers;

Over the course of the last 4 months, I have committed myself to a mission to assist others in obtaining what I have referred to as "Gratitude goggles." I am humbly attempting to show those who are seeking hope and have found themselves in difficult times to adopt a life changing way of viewing the world and themselves. As my domain name suggest, I am putting forth my efforts to show everyone who will hear me the beauty and art that surround us everyday of our lives.

But in my heart, I know that adopting a life a gratitude is only the beginning of my quest. There is so much more that I can do to be an example and light to the friends, family, community, and world in which I live. I know that there are so many opportunities for me to make a difference and though I will continue my mission and commitment to all of you here on this blog, I feel in my heart that it is time for me to step it up and begin the next chapter in my journey to bring light to the beauty that surrounds us.

As most of you know, I have begun a service project in dedication to the Children's Justice Center of Utah. I truly believe that my next step in this incredible mission I have undertaken is to build upon the foundation of gratitude I have adopted, and begin to see and respond to the oppotunites of service to my fellow man that I am prompted to respond to. I can not tell you how many times in my life I have seen a situation and thought "I sure wish I could help" or "that just is not right. Someone should do something!" and then I somehow thought it was best not to get involved. Looking back, I realize how many opportunities I have had to be a light in someone's day, and somehow managed to talk myself out of that opportunity.

 I do not intended to give every beggar money, nor will I attempt to solve all the things wrong in this world, but I know that through my talents and the clarity in my sight that has been granted to me through adopting gratitude and optimism in my life that I can do so much more. I am and will never in this life be perfect. I have moments of pride and vanity; I have moments of self doubt and depression. I have moments where I wonder how effective a little ant like me could ever be in the grand scheme of things. But I know that the more I am adopting this change in perception and attitude, the more smiles I want to be able to put on peoples faces. In the grand scheme of things, I may be an ant, but to the person who needs me in a moment of doubt and darkness, I cannot preach gratitude to the world if I myself cannot be the light that someone else needed me to be in their moment of darkness.

 To experience gratitude, I have learned that it is those simple human beauties of kindness, sincerity, and respect from our fellow human beings that has made the biggest impact on the way I have learned to see the world. Gentleman holding doors for me, people going out of their way to help someone in need, random emails from old friends wondering how I am doing. These have been the seeds of gratitude for me, and as I continue to grow and follow the promptings I have to serve and love my fellow man, I can feel the promise and joy of returning the kindness I have received from those who have served me, back into the world by serving my fellow man. With a humble heart, I hope that as my journey continues, that I can be the light that so many have been to me as I have learned to adopt gratitude in my life.

I pray for each and everyone of you, to adopt a sense of gratitude and service in your life. Just as you can be grateful for someone who serves you, you can be the one who someone else is grateful for. You can be a smile on someones face, the reminder that someone sees them, and a hope for them that humanity is not lost. You can show them the beauty in life by simple everyday actions of service, such as holding a door for a mother with children, calling a neighbor to see how they are doing, or in my case using my talents to make toys for children who need them.

 Small or big, you can make a difference to someone who needs you, and in serving them I know that your happiness and serenity in life will continue to grow. Just as depression and negativity is contagious, so to can be the positive energy produced by a life of gratitude and service. Just as I am living proof of the power of grattiude in the path to happiness, so too shall I aim to be an example of the progression of happiness by adding service upon that foundation. I love and apreciate each and every one of you, and thank you for all your support and love in what I do each day to spread my message. You are all amazing, and I could not have reached as far as I have without you.

 Artfully Yours,

 Jetta Marie