#Blessed

*Photo By Justin Patterson

Cultivating

a Culture

of Gratitude

(Or how to live really truly blessed, not #blessed)

#Blessed. My least favorite thing to see on someone’s posts. It’s like a televangelist that has to fly in first class to be “closer to God”. Forget it. No self-respecting Bette is #Blessed. What they are is truly, honest to goodness blessed.

What I have found is that my fellow showgirls and boys who seem to have the most grounded personalities and peace of mind are the ones that operate from a true place of gratitude. We are actually pretty lucky for getting to live this life and do a job we love (when we get to do it) and even though we love to complain a little, we’ve got it pretty good. And we know it.

Cultivating a personal culture of gratitude is not simple or easy, but it’s serves up it’s own intangible reward, and does become easier over time if you nurture it. If you come from a place of gratitude in your daily operations, you find that even the shitty experiences are a gift…because they taught you something. You have now the gift of growth. And good experiences can be truly enjoyed because your gratitude for having them adds to their intrinsic value. You are already getting something good from the experience, and then your gratitude just makes it that much better.

On this issue, instead of just spewing out my own thoughts, I’ll take the opportunity to share some of the collective wisdom I refer to in the words of my co-showpeople. This culture of gratitude they live by is it’s own beautiful thing.

 Leigh-Ann Esty

“Smile. Laugh. Remember how COOL our jobs are.”

Karolina Blonski

 “Stay in the moment. Don’t rush onto the next job, enjoy your show-they don’t come around that often…good ones anyway.”

Jessica Cohen

“Remember every day to return to GRATITUDE. You are living your dream…something many people never even find.”

Marina Lazzaretto

“Cherish your time onstage, every show could be your last.”

Gayton Scott

“Don’t wish it away-it all goes by so terribly fast, like it or not!”

“Cherish the good ones ‘cause trust me, you’ll be in some stinkers!!”

Emily Ferranti

“Enjoy the moment, great jobs are few and far between.”

As you can see, cultivating a culture of gratitude can not only just be pleasant to be around, it can keep you from losing your sanity! And trust me, these ladies work hard and put up with a lot of nonsense. So if they can cultivate this kind of gratitude, so can you!