Gratitude (CORRECTED VERSION)
Hello dear audience, today I have the pleasure of enjoying the participation of life coach Bettina Clark as we discuss the concept of gratitude and the role it can play in improving our lives.
The podcast is at the end of the article. If you enjoy it, I would invite you to share it with friends and contacts so that they have an opportunity to subscribe.
Gratitude
There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.
Albert Einstein
Every morning when I awaken, I keep my eyes closed and think of the good things life has given me. I visualize them and let their positive energy fill me.
Some people who believe in a deity would call this prayer, and thank the creator who, through our intuition, leads us to those things that we seek.
Others who don’t believe in God can program their minds to have positive thoughts that transform into positive energy with the hope that this energy will see them through the day.
The late American philosopher Wayne Dyer used to say give yourself a gift of five minutes of contemplation in awe of everything you see around you.
Go outside and turn your attention to the many miracles around you. This five-minute-a-day regimen of appreciation and gratitude will help you to focus your life in awe.
I believe in Einstein’s adage.
Throughout my life I have always looked at life in wonder, not because I am a rich man, not because I am a powerful man, but, because I am a happy man.
Happiness envelopes my life, and the joy of living always leads me to a gratitude so deep that it is a constant part of my being.
Gratitude is not a celebration of the perfect.
Rather, it is a celebration of what is.
From my youth, I have always made it a point not to have a bad day. I have always focused on the positive – if I met a challenge, I would learn from it; if I met a success, I would celebrate it.
But, I would never allow either to overwhelm me.
On the contrary, I would always be grateful for the positive outcome or for the learning experience from a negative result that I would then turn to my advantage.
I have always found it useful to create a bubble of mental protection around me so that things affect me to a point, but not to the point where they affect my happiness.
Is this naïve?
Not in my view.
It is a function of finding the tools within to fashion our response to any event or development that affects us.
Finding those tools within is a function of contemplation and enjoying the stillness of quiet times of reflection. Those times that allow us to touch our creative center and feel the energy therein.
Some call this prayer, others meditation.
Whatever your spiritual or religious leanings, (or even if you have none), there is an inner energy from which our ability to create emanates.
That ability to create is fed by the energy that gratitude releases from the depths of our subconscious.
I remember the words of American author Melodie Beattie, who says that gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.
This is not wishful thinking. It is the product of work with ourselves and allowing the energy of life to flow through our veins.
American sociologist Brené Brown sums it up as eloquently and impeccably as she usually does: “I don't have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness - it's right in front of me if I'm paying attention and practicing gratitude”.
I am convinced that gratitude is a powerful weapon at our disposal to create a positive personal environment with which to survive in an often hostile world.
Aesop once observed that gratitude is the sign of a noble soul.
I would hope that readers will provide feedback about their views about gratitude and how it has served their noble souls.
If we learn from each other, and are grateful for what we share and what is shared with us, we can all develop into a happier state of being.
Podcast:
Hey there Eduardo, Gratiude is a great topic! It took a long time for me to discover it, and understand it , same as your guest, but I finally got it about 20 years ago. I have to remind myself to be grateful, and sometimes, most times it's small things. I have a few friends who share their top 3-5 what they're grateful for daily. Reading their entry is often more uplifitng than mine, beause i know what they are exprereincing. So it requires actively mining my gratiude, and sharing it. Like today, I'm grateful for my morning nespresso, some sun, a beautiful view of the lake, and being able to work from home! ( that's 4. Yay! thanks for your article.
I love this reminder of the importance of gratitude. I was particularly delighted when I learned that gratitude, love, joy, awe are all emotions that raise our vibration (try if you don't know what I'm talking about). If you don't know but would be interested in finding out why that's important, Dr. Joe Dispenza summarizes and explains it beautifully in his work entitled "Becoming Superhuman" and in many of his videos. If you're interested in your health and that of your world, make the time to check it out.