INSIGHT · INSPIRATION · IMPACT!
A Spirit of Gratitude
Life is a gift. Are you grateful for it?
A spirit of gratitude opens our eyes to a world of wonder we so often take for granted. It’s not difficult to experience a spirit of gratitude if we’ll just take a few moments to acknowledge the many wonderful things that surround us. We live in a culture that has an obsession with negativity, so it’s easy for us to get caught up in how “bad” things are if we allow ourselves to be distracted by the things we don’t have or how life is never quite good enough. However, if we pause for just a moment, pay attention and look around, we’ll find there are so many wonderful things surrounding us that we can be grateful for.
The truth is it takes much more courage to appreciate what we have — no matter how insignificant or small it may seem — than it does to surrender to the scarcity model and let ourselves off the hook for taking action because something isn’t “enough.”
The power of gratitude opens the floodgates of an unlimited flow of happiness and abundance into every aspect of life.
Gratitude is transformative and enlightening. It connects us with all that is good and rests upon a decision we consciously make to acknowledge the goodness and to focus upon the things that connect us to the miracle of life. That decision creates a basis for the state of mind we ultimately create as our center. Think about it — if you choose to focus on what you’re grateful for over the insufficiencies, discords, lack, etc., then the state of mind you’re creating sets a powerful baseline of change and abundance.
What state of mind are you operating from?
Gratitude is a practice, not a concept. And, like any other practice, the more genuine and consistent we are with it, the more valuable and beneficial it is. Therefore, we must take the time to practice it. Don’t be so concerned about understanding it right away. Your understanding will grow — from within — the more you practice it.
There’s no “right” way to practice being grateful. Your options are broad and diverse. Whether you choose to keep a journal, use positive affirmations, focus on gratitude in your quiet time of prayer or meditation, simply thank the people around you, or remind yourself to slow down and breathe — taking time to focus on what we’re grateful for is one of the easiest and most effective ways to empower yourself, open yourself to awareness, and remember what matters most in life.
Most of us, especially those of us on a path to personal growth and discovery, know that gratitude is essential if we are to discover and experience the essence of the ultimate purpose in life — happiness.
The more we focus on cultivating a spirit of gratitude, the more we have to feel grateful for. And, while many of us have experienced the effects of this personally, recent scientific studies have concluded that gratitude can have significantly positive effects on our health, our moods, our productivity, and our relationships as well as our well-being and sense of satisfaction with life. It makes sense if you think about it.
The more we focus on what we’re truly grateful for, the more life will reveal things that connect us to all that is good.
When you’re in a sincere state of gratitude, your energy and attitude are the essences of acceptance and harmony. You resonate, and as a result, project a much higher energy frequency which is exactly what attracts to you the events, conditions, and circumstances you desire.
Whatever you are feeling, whether it be love, fear, anger, happiness, anger, joy, gratitude, resistance, etc., you are, in essence, creating and projecting a magnetic force that attracts and draws to you events, conditions, and circumstances which are in direct correlation to what you are feeling. Fear of something creates a magnetic force that can attract more of what you fear. Expressing Gratitude for any situation projects a magnetic force that draws to you more of what you are expressing gratitude for.
In other words, enabling and allowing yourself to transition into and remain in a state of gratitude puts you in harmonious alignment with more of what you are grateful while, at the same time, emits and projects a resonance which attracts additional results the same in kind and quality as the deeply felt emotion of gratitude projected.
It’s important to recognize and express sincere and heartfelt gratitude for the fact that everything in your life is unfolding, producing, and providing a miracle; a magnificent creation that you created and have the power to change at any time you choose to do so.
Learn to recognize that a spirit of gratitude, demonstrated through an expression of sincere and heartfelt gratitude for the irrevocable and profoundly amazing gift we’ve been provided, determines the kind and quality of life we live. Acknowledge the miracles in your life and you’ll begin to see the transformational and life-enhancing role that a spirit of gratitude plays in creating even more to be grateful for.
So, take a moment to open your eyes to the miracles that surround you. Pay attention to the subtleties of life that you’ve been taking for granted.
Start by making a list of the things you are grateful for in your life. Don’t struggle with this. Allow the good things to find their way to you and write them down as they are revealed to you.
Connect your gratitude to an emotion of sincerity, because if the emotion isn’t present, the results won’t be either. Make a commitment to yourself that you’ll think about the things you’re grateful for every day. It may help to ensure you remain committed by actually writing them down until it becomes a natural tendency for you to focus on gratitude. I truly believe you’ll be pleased with the things you discover and the new direction your life will take as a result.
Please take a moment to watch the short YouTube clip below. I believe it’ll open your eyes, mind, and soul to the power of gratitude. It spoke to me, and I now offer it in the hope that it’ll also speak to you…
Until next time…
“Begin with gratitude and watch the miracles flow your way.” ~ Jim Rohn