Create a Habit of Gratitude
July 12, 2020 to July 19, 2020 Develop a habit of gratitude “Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotion” said Zig Ziglar and is defined as a feeling of appreciation or thankfulness. I have been on a journey of gratitude for a long time. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude. We need to make gratitude a habit. Each day I write down three things I am grateful for on a list in my daily journal. Each day the three things are different from the ones before on the list. In the European Journal of Social Psychology, the author quoted “it takes 66 days to create a habit”. Keep the list for 66 days and you will have almost 200 items you are grateful for and your mind will constantly be looking for new things to be grateful and thankful. Somedays when I am thinking, preparing and planning, I enjoy reflecting about the things I have been thankful for in the past. Those that know me well, know my love of Southern Gospel Quartet Music. My favorite has always been Hovie Lister and the Statesmen especially their bass singer, James “Big Chief” Wetherington. He was dignified and a class act with integrity and empathy. His character was beyond reproach. Many days I would attend practice sessions with the Statemen and Blackwood Brothers at the Briarcliff Hotel. He was a wonderful man who enjoyed the outdoors hunting and fishing in South Georgia. He was born and raised in Ty Ty, Georgia. On many occasions we would spend hours at Fulton County Stadium watching the Atlanta Braves. The Chief had many followers and they all seemed to love baseball too. I am grateful Abner Doubleday invented baseball. Many life lessons are learned on the field and in the stands. I believe baseball is more than a game. Baseball is a great teacher. On the field and in the dugout, I learned the value of fair play and the importance of being persistent and consistent. During the summers of my youth I played baseball on a daily basis. Under the hot dry southern sky, I lived for hitting, fielding and catching. The sandlot fields with Little League, Pony League, and Senior League youngsters was my classroom for life lessons and technical baseball skills. To this day I still love the statistical data of each game and the impact on my life of the language, the spoken word and telling of stories. The Chief believed he was called by God to sing and to use his voice to inspire and bless others. I will never forget our conversations and will leave you today with some of his comments. He believed “life is like a mountain railroad from cradle to grave” and he prayed “for all to understand, the Hope of America lies in faith in God and The Common Man”
