Most
of us do get around to giving thanks on Thanksgiving, but I’ll wager
that very few of us make a habit of living with a grateful heart. What
do I mean by that? I mean making gratitude an everyday habit. I mean being
so conscious of what is good and right that it becomes the foundation of
your attitude.
I hardly need remind you that we are surrounded by negativity. It is true;
terrible things happen every day. One peep at the morning newspaper or the
evening news will give you more negative information than we can process.
Yet at some level we do process it. We let it seep into our subconscious
minds and color the way we view our world. Collectively we grow cynical
and frustrated and angry. We feel that we should pay attention in order
to do something about all the bad stuff, but what can we do?
Besides negative news in the world, I believe there’s another trigger
for our negative attitudes. We live in a society that places a high value
on economic success, on having the biggest and best of everything. The truth
is that no matter how much we have there’s always going to be someone
with more. The result is that instead of being grateful for what we have,
we focus on what we lack. We begin to think we’re not good enough.
When we focus on what is wrong and on what we lack, we give our power
away. When we get angry and upset by the evening news, we have lost our
power to the very thing we despise. When we feel diminished by someone else’s
success, or our inability to keep up, or get what we want, we lose sight
of what we already have, so much so that we live in a state of “never-enough.”
What Is The Default Setting For Your Attitude?
The only way to reclaim equanimity and to escape from the state
of “never-enough” is to adopt gratitude as the default setting
in your mind. Look around and see all that you have and all that you take
for granted. Ask yourself how much of what you have is blind luck, gifts
from God that you have not earned. What do you have that makes you grateful?
Living gratefully becomes a habit, just like anything else. A good way
to start the habit is to make note of what you are grateful for, either
in writing or mentally, at a certain time each day. I make my list in my
head every morning when I walk my Golden Retrievers, Rainbow and Lily. If
you add something new to the list every day, you’ll soon see that
your life is full of abundance.
Another way to get into the habit of living gratefully to be mindful of
the simple pleasures, and these often come to us through our senses. Notice
and appreciate the smell of a wood fire hanging in the autumn air, the taste
of delicious homemade soup, and the sound of birds chirping or the laughter
of someone you love. When you see a magnificent sunrise, take a deep breath
and say, “thank you.” Starting your day with gratitude is living
with abundance; starting it by grousing about the need to roll out of bed
is living in the state of “never-enough.” Which attitude do
you think will work best for you in the long run?
What Can You Profit From Living Gratefully?
Now I know some of you think that living with gratitude sounds
a bit like Pollyanna. (Somewhere along the way Pollyanna got a bum rap.)
At any rate, I’m willing to concede that we shouldn’t ignore
all that is unjust and wrong in the world. But it’s also not constructive
when good people everywhere fall into a negative funk and focus entirely
on what is wrong or what is lacking. Solutions don’t blossom in negativity
and an attitude of “never-enough,” but they multiply when
they come from love and possibility and gratitude. When you adopt a positive,
grateful attitude you create a ripple affect that cascades throughout your
circle of family and friends. That positive experience enables them to
create their own ripples, and that is how each individual can contribute
to a better world.
Is the gratitude habit for you? Only you can answer that. Before you do
I challenge you to answer just one question: What is it costing you and
those around you to dwell on lack or negativity instead of abundance and
gratitude?
"Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons." - Ruth
Ann Schabacker
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Attract
What Is Good In 2006 - Winter Workshop In Duxbury
Make
2006 the year when you attract great things into your life? Learn how to
break the patterns that are keeping you from being the person you were
intended to be. Learn to manage your own life by dealing with fear and
loss of personal power. If relationships and personal boundaries are a
problem, you’ll get feedback and tools to get on track. This workshop
is geared to the needs of its members. Contact me