Gratitude Makes me Full

With Haiti and Chile's latest massive earthquakes and the deaths and diseases that have resulted on my mind, I want to write about gratitude today. It hit me this morning that I have everything to be grateful for and nothing to complain about. Do I have everything I could ever want? No, but I have everything I could ever need and more than the majority of the people in the world.

If a massive 9.0 earthquake shook the ground where I live in Orange County, CA, my home wouldn't tumble to the ground and crush me. That's a pretty significant thing, because so many in the rest of the world don't have that luxury. If there was a tsunami warning here like they just had on Oahu and I had to evacuate immediately, I would just grab my 72 hour kit backpack and go. (Hopefully I'd have a good amount of gas and not have to wait in line at the gas station). I stopped and talked to this woman the other day who had a sign that said, "Homeless with Kids." She didn't look much older than me. I asked her, "So, do you really have kids?" I've seen a lot of beggars that scam people, pretending to have limps and such. She told me about all four of her kids and how her husband lost his job so they were living in a motel in Long Beach. I gave her some cash, got her phone number, and told her I could point them in the direction of a good free employment center.

Man, I thought to myself, I am so blessed. Four kids in a motel. I asked the woman where she was from and she pointed out towards Pacific Coast Highway and said, "I used to live right over there." Kind of hard to believe a few years later she'd begging in her old neighborhood.

Anyway, the more I have felt grateful and humbly acknowledged that I have a more comfortable lifestyle than the majority of the world, the more satisfied and full I been. A lot of overeating is emotional. You don't feel full and satisfied emotionally so you turn to food to fill the void. If that describes you, try reading the news and counting your blessings. Your problems may seem a lot smaller and more manageable and you will have less of a void to fill.

Check out my book, Stop Overeating Today!, for more tips: www.stopovereatingtips.com