When I think back to how I got to wherever I may be today, I see a lot of paths that have been taken.

I see a schoolboy who was incredibly fortunate to have a wonderful education at an amazing school that accepted children for brains as well as financial clout.

I see a teenager at high school who was able to choose the subjects he liked, as opposed to the subjects his parents thought he should take or his teachers wanted him to take.

I see a young man that left home at 19 and moved hundreds of miles away from his family to start a career path that would lead him to this place, right here, right now.

I see the moments that changed his life, and led him to another country, another continent, and have the support to be who he wants to be.

In short, I see a lot of good fortune and encouragement.

But I also see one overarching reason for anything that has happened, and anything that will – the power of freedom.

Freedom to make the choices that shape me and the lives of those around me, whether they be right choices or otherwise.

Freedom to live lives that we choose to live as opposed to lives that would be chosen for us.

Freedom to disagree, and be disagreed with.

Simply put, freedom to be.

And for that freedom, I’m forever grateful to the men and women who went before me and are braver than I ever could be to make my life, and yours, the ones we choose them to be.

November 11 is a day to remember, and offer gratitude for those that went before. Take the time to reflect, and thank, and acknowledge.

They earned it.

image: Jim Nix

Gratitude and Recollection originally appeared on Danny Brown - under a Creative Commons license.

Grateful for #Tweetsgiving originally appeared on Danny Brown - under a Creative Commons license.

Its aim is to continue the wonderful work started at last year’s inaugural Tweetsgiving, where a classroom was built in Tanzania. You can read the full story of Tweetsgiving here. This year, the event is being taken to another level with a far loftier goal, but the message remains the same – changing the world through gratitude.

So here’s my take.

Gratitude is a state of mind and an emotion of being. It’s a constant. It’s the knowledge that no matter what, you have a network around you to keep you going, even in your darkest times. Friends; family; loved ones; colleagues; even virtual strangers online that have somehow become some of the most important people in your life.

It’s never giving up, because you’re thankful for the lessons learned even when failing. It’s acknowledging your weaknesses; your frailties; your mortality, and loving yourself for it. It’s about recognizing the same faults in others yet loving them for it as well.

It’s about genuine emotion. Raw, down-to-the-core emotion with no barriers.

Gratitude is all about the word it shares much of its letters with – attitude. We can choose to be ignorant. We can choose to be negative. We can choose to be naysayers, and put people down.

But that’s easy. Anyone can do that, and do it well. Gratitude, though? Full, 100% gratitude? That comes from the attitude of complete untethered belief that the world around us, the world of us, is a good place. Or can be.

That’s what’s happening over these 48 hours between November 24-26 2009. People with good hearts – with grateful hearts – making a statement. Drawing a line in the sand. Planting their placeholder and saying, “I’m grateful.”

That’s where change lies. That’s where real gratitude and honest hearts lie, and I’m grateful that we’re a living part of that.

This post was created as part of a global groundswell of gratitude called TweetsGiving. The celebration, created by US nonprofit Epic Change, is an experiment in social innovation that seeks to change the world through the power of gratitude. I hope you’ll visit the TweetsGiving site to learn more, and to bring your grateful heart to the party by sharing your gratitude, and giving in honor of that for which you’re most thankful.

photo credit: TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³

Gratitude is Simply Attitude originally appeared on Danny Brown - under a Creative Commons license.