You’ll Find Something Amazingly Awesome Today

And you won’t have to try too hard

When we shift to an attitude of gratitude, we relieve suffering and invite contentment and peace.

What if we could see an endless array of amazingly awesome things? How would it feel? What if you said “thank you” to everything?

Pam Grout’s inspiring book, Thank and Grow Rich, has become one of my favorite go-to for pumping up my gratitude game. She’s playful and light-hearted, sharing simple tools to expand your joy and abundance in every area of your life.

Her straightforward methods will blow your tragic mindset out of the window and shift your perspective. You’ll find joy in the mundane and profound. She doesn’t disappoint when it comes to entertainment, either.

We could all use a little more feel-good energy at the moment.

We can be grateful for people coming together in solidarity and support. We can thank our essential workers for doing what we won’t or can’t and providing we need and want. We can thank our lucky stars were alive and safe. If you’re reading this, you have access to a functioning phone or laptop, or adaptive technology when needed. You can afford to have these things.

For those of you experiencing discrimination or other unfairness, I see you. I’m not asking you to put a bow on it and call it good. There are real inequalities in our society. But we can change our perspective, no matter what’s happening outside of us.

Gratitude is accessible and helpful to everyone. We can find blessings in uncomfortable circumstances. We can find relief when we put it into practice.

We’re able to access our inner riches anytime. Let’s try something you can do right now.

Place your hand on your chest. Feel your heartbeat? Now move your hand to your belly. You’ll feel it expand when you breathe. You didn’t have to try to do any of it. Isn’t it amazing how our bodies keep us alive without effort? I’m thanking my autonomic nervous system now.

It’s especially poignant to do an exercise like this when you think you can’t focus on anything good. Our bodies are magnificent, working daily miracles for our existence. Even when they’re at half capacity, they perform better than we could imagine. With the stress and pressure we put on them, they still function.

Although she’s unaware, Pam Grout has become my mentor. I’ve never met her, but she’s opened up my heart. She’s helped me find my sunshine on rainy days. She’s reminded me of the glorious truth. We’re amazingly awesome beings, and we’re surrounded by amazingly awesome things, people, and situations.

Her only “rule” for accessing the magic of gratitude (albeit a flexible one) is to name three amazingly awesome things, then share them with others.

I shared three amazingly awesome things daily for about a year. Since I shared on Facebook, I have the pleasure of looking back on them each day this year. I got to give you and me a gift twice. How amazingly awesome is that?

She also suggests pronouncing your gratitude for unpleasantries.

You can thank things like dog poop on your shoe (you went for a walk), or the dishes you have to wash (you had food to eat on those plates).

Expressing gratitude shifts your focus to what’s working well and feels good. It can induce laughter over the insanity of being human. It’s a wacky, messy experience, and that’s ok.

It’s why I’m thankful for bothersome situations or circumstances, as well as the fantastic ones. My mind shifts into a place of acceptance, and I laugh incredulously instead of moping around or lashing out. I might also cry hard when I know I can’t fix it. It’s ok to be grateful and upset at the same time.

When we’re feeling helpless, hopeless, and scared, our emotions can bring insight. The shift happens when we can see the silver lining in the storm clouds.

I have a friend who’s treating cancer.

She intuitively knows chemo isn’t right for her, so she asked for help with alternatives. She’s immensely thankful for so many people reaching out and publicly expressed it to us. She’s young with a family and knows she could die, with or without chemo. And she’s grateful for the gifts.

This could mean a couple of things for her. She’ll cure her cancer with alternative methods, including gratitude, and show us it works. She could try everything and still die, leaving us with an indescribable feeling of appreciation for the impermanence of our lives. We’ll look around at our precious family and friends, and love them with all our hearts.

Hearing her story already does it for me. I would never wish cancer on anyone. But if we have it and share our gratitude for the unexpected positive byproducts, we change people. We allow others to spread their joy and love.

As diseases are contagious, so is love and healing. We have the power to heal ourselves and each other with our gratitude. I envision my friend living a long, healthy, cancer-free life.

Final thoughts

Find three amazingly awesome things today. You’ll see how it feels to be in the gratitude stream. When you’re floating down the steam of awesome, the world looks brighter and more beautiful than ever.

Hey, hey, something’s different in the world today…They changed the traffic signs to a brighter yellow.~Curbside Prophet, Jason Mraz

Gratitude spreads fast and far, as any other energy would. We’ve suddenly found plenty of time on our hands. We can use it to feel good and help others. Let’s share as much love as we can muster for everyone.

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