Wise words from this wonderful site:
http://www.marcandangel.com/2013/02/22/8-places-happy-people-find-peace/#more-574
The Mindset of Forgiveness
When someone has hurt you, it’s hard to be peaceful. But you do it anyway because you know peace is the only battle worth waging. Peace is beautiful; it is the manifestation of your love, and the best resolution for a brighter future.
Being peaceful is hard sometimes; much harder than being angry and vengeful. It requires you to stay calm and let go of the pain. It requires you to forgive and move on. Of course, you don’t do these things just for the person who has hurt you, but for your own wellbeing. ( Please see note in comments below!)
Appreciation
If you believe you would finally be happy if you had twice the amount of the things you already have – time, money, friends, cars, snazzy dress shoes, etc. – you would be sadly mistaken.
Because if you aren’t happy with what you have, you won’t be any happier when what you have is doubled.
As Socrates once said, “Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty.”
Do not waste all your happiness by overlooking everything you have for everything you wish you had.
If you do, you will never have enough.
Instead, appreciate the goodness that is already yours,
and you will instantly find a lot more to smile [ and ponder ] about.
Something to Ponder About 
well said. Gratitude for what we have creates a whole new mindset. If I focused on everything I don’t have (flat screen tv, mobile phone with internet access, new car, etc.) instead of what I do (great friends, awesome husband, a kid that is pretty cool when she isn’t being a teenager, a roof over my head, food to eat, etc.) I would probably be miserable for no good reason. Always look at the bright side of things.
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Also, I have forgiven people for some pretty bad things. We all make mistakes. But there is a time to draw the line, too. Not all things are mendable. Then we have to “forgive” for inner peace but remain firm on ending things.
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Absolutely. I totally agree with you on this point. Forgiveness is healing, but we must be careful to avoid continually abusive situations where it is damaging to forgive over and over, when we really need to walk away. That point should be included in the text.
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Thanks for the comment Linda. I agree that teenagers, at times, can be trying, but it helps us, and them, if we can practise countering any negative thoughts with a positive one. Glass half full rather than half empty kind of thing. Hopefully it will be contagious with the teenagers still living in our homes!
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