Thank You Very Much (queue Scrooge soundtrack here)

“To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.” ~Johannes A. Gaertner


Deep thoughts.


I feel like this is a true statement. What is the difference between enacting gratitude and living gratitude? I've been thinking long and hard about this for the last five minutes, and I have concluded that the difference is that enacting gratitude could be a one-time act like sending a thank you card, which is a very nice thing, and not to be pooh-poohed (thank you thesaurus), while living gratitude is about an everyday attitude or approach to life. I have not learned how to live gratitude. Sometimes I have thoughtful moments and I enact it. Why, just the other day I made a list of people to thank. I consider this a great accomplishment.

How can we live gratitude? I have come up with the following so far:
1. Gratitude journal (thank you, Oprah)
2. Take friends out for cheesecake to thank them for bein' a friend. I'll let you go first.
3. ...

Yeah, that's all I got. Clearly I'm theees close to living gratitude. Anybody got any thoughts on things I could add to my exhaustive list above?

The Rapture and Other Things that Make us Giggle

I have been noticing a trending conversation topic on MyFace the last few days. Everywhere I look it's all about the Rapture. I noticed that it was even a topic on several major news websites. The media is enjoying poking a little fun just as much as the peeps on MyFace. And it does seem a little goofy to me that Random Dude is telling us all the appointed day that It Will All Be Over.

As much as I think that it's goofy that people believe this guy, I can't help cringe a little at all the mocking. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In other words, I'm a Mormon girl. :) And even my friends who love me and are respectful of my beliefs say that some of the things I believe seem a little wacky to them. I get it. It's understandable that without the element of faith, a belief in things like modern-day prophets, revelation, and *gasp* abstaining from alcohol and coffee would seem odd to say the least.

I did not believe this rapture talk, and really do find it kind of ridiculous and crazy. But my urge to point my finger and laugh is hampered a bit by a glimmer of a feeling of common ground. Their beliefs seem crazy to me, but my beliefs also seem crazy to many people. I can take some fun poked at my religion, but people can be pretty brutal sometimes. What is it that makes it so appealing to mock the beliefs of others. Why has this prediction been such a significant thing to people that they are posting and re posting on MyFace, talking about it in the grocery store, and writing news stories over and over? I'm not saying I haven't found these posts amusing, because some of them are downright hilarious. I'm just saying, if it's so ridiculous, why are we expending so much energy focusing on it?

But then, I don't get why we should care which celebrity is in rehab or whatever either. But I'm not gonna lie, I have had periods in my life where I've followed all that gossip.