not your fault

a few years ago i read "glimpses" - a collection of talks by, and stories about, sister hinckley. there is one talk that has stayed with me more than the others. she spoke of gratitude.

" A grateful heart will give you a touch of refinement that can come in no other way . . .I know some of you think you are on a tight budget, and you are, I am glad if you are. But it is a tight budget because you have nothing else to compare with it. It isn't your fault that you have had three square meals a day, most every day of your life. It isn't your fault that you have never been hungry in you life. It isn't your fault that somehow or other you have always been able to get a new pair of shoes, whether you needed them or not. It isn't your fault that you have at least five or six changes of clothing in your crowded closets. But all of this makes it doubly hard for you to be truly grateful . . .When you finally develop a little gratitude in your heart, make up you mind to express it. 'Appreciation unexpressed is not appreciation.' If you can't find someone to say thank you to for something, just take a look at your toothbrush and say, 'thank you for being. You are a wonderful little gadget.' 'Thank you' is a wonderful phrase. Use it. It will add stature to your soul. Never let a day go by without saying thank you to someone for something - and especially to your Heavenly Father."