You've never got enough of it and it's not always there when you need it, but boy am I glad for what I do have. Perspective. Drawing towards the end of my 20s, I've got little life experience to draw on, but when you teach teenagers, it feels like a lot. Getting past the self-congratulatory stage where you revel in having experienced something that someone else has not yet (condescending!) is a good step. Now experience feels less like a gem in my crown and more like a tool in my belt.
This 'journey into thankfulness' has been more fruitful than I truly expected. A permanent change in one's outlook is hard to come, but I feel this is occurring. Spending time with others that are miles ahead is helpful, but deciding to be an agent of change for those that aren't has also shifted my persona. It's easy to change what's on the outside (our persona); as others come to expect those traits, though, we are drawn into the habit of fulfilling their expectations. Our inner person begins to align with the new persona. I've never truly bought into the 'inner change yields outer change' as a complete model of transformation. The reverse is rings just as true.
The new, more thankful person, cares a bit less about the irritations and a bit more about the positives. And this is a shift in perspective - not just a different angle, but probably a wider lens.
