COMMENTARY: Gratitude Published June 27, 2018 By Chaplain (Capt.) Meade Adams 2nd Bomb Wing Chapel BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. -- This week I have celebrated a birthday. Birthdays have a way of causing one to reflect on the past year or years past in general. For most people, birthdays are also a time of gratitude. We should sit back and reflect on how grateful we are for what we have. I think one of the trademarks of unhappy people is that they take times like birthdays to reflect on all that they DON’T have. Gratitude is a powerful thing. To practice gratitude is (to borrow from last week’s segment) to avoid the rabbit holes of the past and of the future and to live in the now. It is to come to peace with what is, not what we wish will be or what we wish was. We must come to the place of being able to be grateful for what we have. Can we be grateful for the people in our lives? For the success and status that we have received? Or are we always longing for more? Are we always dissatisfied with what is and constantly seeking for something else? No matter what rank we achieve there is always another one above it… (let’s face it, most of us will not be 4-star generals or command chiefs). Many leave relationships thinking that there’s something better around the corner and not being content with what’s in front of them. The idea is to form a sense of gratitude in your life and live happier. Love yours.