Being Grateful

Every day I receive a meditation from the Henri Nouwen Society to reflect upon. Nearly a week ago there was one about gratitude but really, it was more about being grateful for the things that don't go well in our lives, my life.  Although this is not a new idea for me as a person who believes in the idea and reality of redemption, i.e. turning bad stuff into a meaningful stuff, it seemed apropos to have received this a few days before returning to my job for the semester.

As you know, I wrote about how my supervisor told me I wasn't doing a good job and how it sucked for me to hear that; but more than that it was hearing her criticism in such a way that made me feel denigrated.  After some reflection I'm recognizing some of the good that's coming from the job and to even be grateful.  This has definitely helped my attitude towards the work I had to do last week and will continue doing this semester.

This is of course not to say that anyone should put up with abusive behavior in any context let alone work but there's value in having perspective and making choices that in the end benefit my state of mind and helps me to grow as a person.

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