feelin' soulful

 A person however learned and qualified in his life's work in whom gratitude is absent, is devoid of that beauty of character which makes personality fragrant.
-Hazrat Inayat Khan

I had the opportunity to guest post over at the Soulful Coach Blog for their Gratitude Project. I've been thinking a lot about gratitude lately. I mean true gratitude. I think of this mostly when I think about my girls and how I want to raise them. I think there is a big difference between teaching children to be polite and say thank you, and teaching them what it means to be truly thankful for something or someone. Don't get me wrong, a little thank you goes a long way. Although we shouldn't make every choice to help someone with the intent of expecting gratitude in return, I know I have went far out of my way to help some individuals and not even getting a simple thank you made me question some things. Not so much whether I would help people again, but more about what could truly be going on in this person's head, let alone their heart. Kids don't always remember to say thank you, but I truly hope that with guidance from me via discussions and setting the right example, I truly hope that my girls grow up understanding why they should feel gratitude for the things that happen in their lives. The last thing I want is for my children to grow up with an unwavering sense of entitlement or a lack of consideration for another's sacrifice in their favor.

I really think parents should be conscious of their role and responsibility when it comes to focusing on the content of their child's character. In addition, our own character should reflect these qualities that we hope to see in our children. For my guest post at The Soulful Coach, I decided to write on Lessons on Gratitude. It is relatively heavy material compared to what readers are used to here at Pink, but it is definitely me (yes, I'm heavy and getting heavier by the day) and it is something I hope can stimulate a little thinking. Click here to visit the Soulful Coach Blog and read what I had to say. I'd love some feedback if you got it!