Gratitude has been popping up all over the place for me in the last few days. My inbox, facebook, even the talk I went to the other night (yes, another networking event!!).
Methinks that the universe is sending me a message.
Maybe I need to have more of it (I had thought I was ok at this, but I’m guessing that it means that there is more to do). Sigh! Yet grateful for the message. Thanks universe!
Gratitude is an important part of my day (I thought!).
For me, each night, before I go to sleep, I think of 10 things that I am grateful for and thank God for. (I use the word God but this can be source, universe, whatever feels right for you).
I start off and lump a whole load of things together (my husband, our 3 legged slightly narky cat, people in my life, house, area where I live, country where I live, clean water, fresh food, convenience of location – all of this for me counts as one!), and then I like to think of things that were unique to that day.
Working backwards from night time, I go back through the day. I list the things that I liked or am grateful for – it could be a great tv programme, a nice lunch or meal that I cooked, sunshine (always a bonus in this part of the world), work that I did, someone I met, and go all the way back to morning (a good night’s sleep?).
I always finish by saying thank you for the lessons I have learnt, and thank you for the lessons I have yet to learn, as I know that I am a lifelong student and have so much to learn.
This is such a habit with me that I can’t go to sleep without doing it. It is just part of my routine, like brushing my teeth.
And no matter how bad the day is, I can usually get to 10. I think there was only one day in all of the time that I have been doing it, (and it has been many years), when I was really in a bad place and I couldn’t think of one thing.
Guess what? The next day, I was able to get back up to 10.
Gratitude and Appreciation
Jack Canfield, in his book, The Success Principles, talks about the importance of gratitude or appreciation:
‘Another important reason for being in a state of appreciation as often as possible is that when you are in such a state, you are in one of the highest vibrational (emotional) states possible.
When you are in a state of appreciation and gratitude, you are in a state of abundance. You are appreciating what you do have instead of focusing on and complaining about what you don’t have.
Your focus is on what you have received, and you always get more of what you focus on. And because the law of attraction states that like attracts like, you will attract more abundance – more to be thankful for to you. (The more you are in a state of gratitude, the more you will attract to be grateful for.)
It becomes an upward-spiralling process of ever-increasing abundance that just keeps getting better and better.
Thank about it. The more grateful people are for the gifts we give them, the more inclined we are to give them more gifts. Their gratitude and appreciation reinforces our giving. The same principle holds as true on a universal and spiritual level as it does on an interpersonal level.’
And as Elizabeth Gilbert says:
‘Without gratitude, you will always walk away from the table still starving — no matter what measure of abundance has been laid before you.’
A couple of things have just occurred to me after writing this.
First, I want to thank you for reading my newsletter. I am always heartened by the response that I get from you, and with all the inbox clutter that you have, I really appreciate you taking the time to read my ramblings.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Also, I never give thanks for the work that I do! Big omission as I am very grateful for the work I do.
And I never thank God/universe for tapping, and the other tools that I have.
And another thing, giving thanks for the life I have had, with all of its ups and downs, which has brought me to the place to where I am today.
Because this has definitely brought me to a place of understanding and empathy for the difficulties that other people go through, and greater compassion for myself.
So, I’ve already started adding these to my late night evening thanks.
Also, why do I have to wait until I’m in bed waiting to go to sleep, when the day is nearly over, to express gratitude?
Are there more ways that I can express gratitude throughout the day?
My morning meditation is definitely a place where I have now started to express gratitude.
I have also put a reminder on my phone saying thank you twice a day. I’m only doing it a few days now and it’s a nice surprise when I get it and it makes me smile and definitely shifts the energy to gratitude.
If you want to try out this gratitude mullarkey in a more structured way, why not try out this new meditation from Deepak & Oprah. It started a few days ago but you can still catch the beginning.
Its title is Manifesting Grace Through Gratitude.
Try it out and see how this goes for you.
https://chopracentermeditation.com/home
As always, do let me know how you get on with this or if you have any comments on this.