During one of my journal writing mornings about all that is wrong in my life, a quiet thought crept in as I took a sip of my coffee: Be Grateful. Gratitude is easy to acquire, requires very little practice. Yet is amazing to me how no one seems to really understand the phrase.
We give lip service to gratitude, saying “Thank you” when gifted or assisted. But do we feel it? Are we grateful?
I say thank you frequently. My prayers are of gratitude. Yet, after that morning and that quiet thought: Be Grateful, I realized I did not truly understand.
Gratitude is more than just words spoken. It is a feeling, a way of being. When you are grateful, you feel it in your body, your thoughts, your face reflects it. All the muscles relax, a smile is genuine, seen in the eyes, the doorway to the soul. You are “Being.”
Be Grateful is not just a few words of politely uttered gratitude. It is astonishing to watch the looks shift on someone’s face when you reflect gratitude, not merely say “Thank you.” The other person is not expecting the response, he or she has a set idea, an expectation of how you will respond. You blow them away when you are grateful in your being, not just in words.
It brings a smile to my face every time I hear the phrase. Because it is a state of being, feeling, it is energy moving through out my body. Try it.
Find that place within your body that resonates love, comfort, sit with it for a minute or a few seconds. Notice how you feel over all, listen to your body. Be gratitude, express your gratefulness for the ability to read these words. To hear the sounds that surround you, the ability to be mobile, or just alive.
I have written many gratitude lists. Each time I hear the negation of that item I am grateful for. It is not until it is gone, that the treasure is revealed. I do not always like a situation, a place, or the lack of. When I sit with that, my universe contracts.
We do manifest that which we desire. Emotion is the key to manifestation.
Hating will bring more hate. Complaining, disliking, dissatisfaction with what you have, where you are at in your journey right this moment, will create more of the same.
The Catch 22 is without the hate, discontent, negative side of life, we would not appreciate the happy, joyous, positive side of life. Without a negative there is no positive. What is the solution? Be Grateful for the negative.
Yes, be grateful for the negative, the discontent, the complaints, because without it how would you know what to change? Where would progress be without the disdain for the current situation.
BE: to exist. Grateful: expression of gratitude. Exist in gratitude.
Say thank you to the next person who cuts you off on the freeway, you never know if your life was spared or held for another reason. I see those instances in my traffic life as a sign I need to slow down, take a look around, because inevitably there is an accident ahead that could have been me. Find the positive in every situation. Because there is one.
I am grateful for you, my reader. Thank you for taking the time to read, please leave a comment. Share your thoughts on gratitude. What are you grateful for?
