Attitude and Gratitude

There are many references to having a good attitude such as having "an attitude of gratitude," or telling a person who is in despair to make a gratitude list.  Having a good attitude can make all the difference in the world.  Aldous Huxley wrote, "Experience is not what happens to you, it is what you do with what happens to you."  And the famous William Shakespeare said, "Nothing is either good or bad.  It's thinking that makes it so."  The way people look at their lives and think about their experiences, cause their reactions.  When they have a good attitude and are grateful, they acknowledge that thier experiences, good and bad, and their joys and sorrows, offer opportunities for growth.  People who are grateful, and in turn have a good attitude, reach a point where they honestly believe that all of their experiences were necessary for them to be where they find themselves to be  today, and look forward, without trepidation, to tomorrow. They find peace and contentment and concentrate on what they have rather than on what they don't have.  They have an attitude of  "the glass is half full rather than half empty."  No matter how discouraged they get, they know there is always something to be grateful for, even if it is the basics of food, clothes, and shelter.   Being grateful is being grateful to someone, or perhaps something that has happened.  In the spiritual sense of the word, when people are grateful, they have faith in something greater than themselves.