I was so excited earlier this week – as I set off on my journey – to visit my dear friend in Scotland. Not only was I looking forward to spending time with her – but was looking forward to the journey too. I was – as I have done before – travelling by train – and I have to say that the scenery on this journey – is always quite spectacular.

As I have mentioned before – I do not enjoy travelling backwards – and so always book a forward facing seat. You can imagine – I’m sure – my disappointment – when on boarding the train – I discovered that I would have to endure the long journey – backwards!

But – it wasn’t long before I recognised that – as this quote puts it – “Disappointment – is just the initial shock of not getting what you wanted – but – it’s not the end of your journey” – and I was certainly not going to allow it to accompany me on the journey either.

I needed to ‘suck it up’ – and simply get on with it. I couldn’t change the situation – but – I could certainly change my response – and attitude towards it – for – “When we focus on our gratitude – the tide of disappointment goes out – and the tide of love rushes in” – and that’s what I quickly found – as I focused on my gratitude – being treat to first class travel – with a constant supply of food and drink – a comfortable individual seat – and certainly not the least thing I was grateful for – the quite regular glimpses of the wonderful coastline – bathed for the majority of time – in sunshine.

How true it is – that – “Adopting the right attitude – can convert a negative stress – into a positive one”

Whereas – as the journey began – I had certainly felt that ‘negative stress’ – now – I was able to simply relax – and actually enjoy – and appreciate the journey.

I’m glad that life has taught me the simple truth – that – “Attitude changes everything” – and that I was quickly able to remember – and change my attitude – before the negative stress took over.

I found this quote on gratitude – which I thought was quite profound – “Gratitude turns what we have into enough – and more. It turns denial into acceptance – chaos into order – confusion into clarity. It makes sense of our past – brings peace for today – and creates a vision for tomorrow”.

As always – I am so grateful – that my life’s journey continues to teach me – and to remind me – about the things that are important – and I do so often need that reminder.

Blessings – Lois