Gratitude is defined as the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.
Gratitude is an attitude. It is a choice.
We often hear about gratitude and why it’s important to living a happy life. It’s easy for gratitude to be thought of as a cliche, an overused idea, and pass it over. But the truth is gratitude works!
As a practitioner, mother, and business owner, what gratitude does for me is to quickly shift how I see things. When the world seems crazy, my life too busy, or I find myself overwhelmed at our world of political divisiveness and mass shootings, it feels like there isn’t anything me as an individual can do.
What I can do is remember to be grateful for what I have and the goodness in my life. Even the smile of the cashier at the grocery store, or the excited wiggle of my little dog when I come home reminds me of wonderful things I do have and that I am surrounded by beauty in this world.
Cultivate an attitude of gratitude
How can you experience more wonderful things in life? Practice being thankful and paying attention to what you are thankful for. You can shift from feelings of doom and gloom to an overall knowingness of more kindness and compassion towards the world at large. If you’re having a rough day — and we all have them — look for the little things that touch you, things that touch your heart, and then look for some more. Gradually you will find your mood lifting, your attitude shifting, and you may even find yourself smiling!
Choosing to be grateful is choosing to see the world as half full instead of half empty. Remind yourself that you can always find good around you if you look for it.
Receiving gratitude
The side of gratitude we don’t talk about much is receiving gratitude, or kindness. What do you do when someone thanks you? Gives you a compliment? Shows kindness to you? Do you take it in? Or, do you brush it off as nothing and move on?
Not being able to really receive their sentiment robs the other person of an opportunity to show how much they appreciate you! Think of all the gratitude floating around not being able to be received!
Practice allowing what is focused towards you to come in. Show yourself love. Let it in. Breathe it in.
This is cultivating gratitude. This is creating a flow of goodness coming in and going out. This same flow works with abundance, love, compassion, and more.
written by BarbraFangBabcock, RScP
Affirmation
I am thankful for the good in my world.
The longer you linger in gratitude
The more you draw your vision of the future to you
~Joe Dispenza
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