G is for Gratitude

G is for Gratitude

 

G is for Gratitude…  do you want to feel rich beyond measure?

There is a multitude of books published about this so you might think, oh no not another one… but this one is different. I’m not selling anything, I’m not getting you to subscribe to anything… but I am going to tell you how you can change your life.

This is an absolute Freebie!

It’s quite a promise, don’t you think?  But it can work if you decide it will.

Your outlook on life determines whether your life is going to pleasurable or not, not the ‘stuff’ you have or the people around you.

So here’s a wee experiment… just pause right here and think for a moment, about something you are truly, genuinely grateful for. It can be big or small as long as you thank all your lucky stars for it.

Your team scored a goal at the last minute to win the match.

You discovered a bill was paid off before you thought.

A little flutter on the horses paid off.

Your troubled teen just scraped in to pass NCEA?

The restructuring at work left your job safe.

You/your wife is pregnant? Not pregnant?

I’m going to think how absolutely adorable and loving my kitten is, just to show you this works with any size thought. I had been wanting a kitten for a while but hadn’t met the right one… and now here he is! Purring his head off.

Ok, sit quietly, think about the thing, and really think how very grateful you are that [……..]. Really focus, and really feel it. Is that warm fuzzy growing? Smile! You’re really pleased aren’t you? Now say out loud (or in your head if you’re in public feeling shy) Thank you for [……..], Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.  As you sit there thinking and feeling that gratitude, think how good you feel. Let that feeling wash over you and stay.

If you’re feeling up to it, start a list… write down 5 things that you are truly grateful for.

Once you’ve done 5 each day for a week, make it 10… it will get easier and easier. The more you are grateful for, the more you find to be grateful for.

Next time your day just seems to go wrong from the start… stop. Breathe, excuse yourself from the room if need be, and ‘count your blessings’ … I bet you your day will pick up!

What a great way to start the day, sitting on the bus, stuck at traffic lights… make the most of the time you used to complain about ~ I’d be grateful to be able to drive in winter instead of walk from the train station…

What a lovely way to end the day with your kids… start them young and give them the tools for a great life, instead of just a good one.

Can’t think of 5 things? Go on ~ work on it… be grateful for the home you live in; the car you drive; the clothes you wear; the food you eat; the beautiful clean water you can drink – with or without coffee added!

Here’s a few we come up with from time to time…

I’m grateful for my girls… they give a joy to my life that is truly immeasurable.

I’m grateful for the rain to water our garden, and the sun that warms us.

I am hugely grateful that I got time with my dad before he died.

I am grateful for my health.

I am grateful that my beloved makes my coffee first thing in the morning (cos he does it so well and it’s always delicious!)

 

Sometimes life throws you some utter crap that you just really don’t need. No, I’m not going to suggest you pretend to be grateful for it… but you can choose to wallow in the upset, or lift yourself up a bit (and be in a better frame of mind to deal with the crap). Maybe it seems there is nothing in the situation that you can possibly be grateful for, but there will be something. I’m in the midst of restructuring at the moment. My position is going. But I can be grateful knowing I have good skills and am extremely employable. I can choose to believe I will find another job somewhere, or I could wallow in rejection and loss and get nowhere.

I had a dear friend, now lost to cancer. He said he wouldn’t let it beat him. He knew one day it would kill him and it did, but not before his attitude stumped it for a few years, and stumped his doctors too ~ his prognosis was mere months when it was discovered, but he had years because of his gratitude for life. He put those years to good use.

I am grateful for my daughters, and for the wonders of modern technology that enabled my eldest to speak to her grandpa before he went. For the gift of Skype so my middle daughter and I could blow out the candles on our birthday cake ‘together’ even though it was the first time since her birth that we were apart for our shared birthday. I am grateful my youngest comes on the train to visit for the weekend from Uni ~ and brings her laundry… and I’m grateful for the sunshine and the wind then too.

 

Next time someone holds the door for you, look into their face and smile, and say “thank you” to them, feel grateful for the grace still in our world. Really appreciate the meal cooked when you pick up your plate, someone has bothered to prepare it… and if that someone is you then be grateful for the food you have to nourish yourself, so much more than some in our world.

If you practice “Gratitude” it will block some of those negative emotions that drag you down: you cannot feel envy if you are grateful for what you have.

You will automatically become more self-confidant if you feel gratitude. Be grateful for yourself.

Gratitude allows you to celebrate the present moment, therefore reducing worry of the future and regret of the past.

And rich? Yes, you will feel rich beyond measure when you discover the real value of the wonderful life you have all around you.

How much gratitude can you hold?