The Magic of Gratitude

Gratitude is powerful stuff. It can transform anything it touches. Anything. In addition, it is always with you.

It doesn’t matter how sad, mad, hurt, scared, lonely or nervous. There is nothing a drop or two of gratitude can’t ease.  In situations most people would call intolerable, others have found the sliver of gratitude and often been able to pull themselves back, even from the darkest times.

Its truly magical power is its accessibility.  It’s never farther away than your next thought.  All you have to do to turn it on is rest your mind into one grateful thought.  Just one.

There is no one I know who couldn’t, with a moment’s thought, rattle off countless things to be grateful for.  Being alive is a start.  Breathing. Standing or sitting. Listening or speaking. Most of the people I know, wherever they are, no matter what they’re doing, they can look around and find something to warm their hearts.

Discovering how many things you can be grateful for is a delightful game with a huge payoff. Just thinking of music, sunshine, fresh water, abundant food, computer and/or smart phone, friends, family, pets, a nice home to live in, children . . . you can feel your mood lifting immediately!

I saw a documentary on the Dust Bowl.  Those people lived in constant dust, always had difficulty breathing and soon found it was killing their youngest family members.  How much we have to be grateful for with our myriad of  “mod cons” like showers and multi-layered windows, fresh air outside our doors, refrigerators.

As I take a look around me, I can see my computer, colorful pens, water, some more time ahead to write, gifts from friends, pictures of loved ones, tons of paper, pretty candles, phone numbers for all kinds of people I can reach out to.  As my eyes and mind sweep over the sundry items around me, my spirit is lightened, my mood is brighter.  Just like magic.

But even in tougher times, when I’m weary or frustrated, scared or sad, if I can just seek the jewel in everything.  Find the one thing.  At least I have _____.  There’s almost always something.  The more I can find, the more there is to find.  One thing leads to another and before I know it, I have a lapful of gratitudes!  Just the act of seeking can help see your way clear of the negative and drowning emotions.  As if we’ve just tapped our heart lightly with a wand.

As this Holiday season winds down I urge you to remember to notice all you have to be grateful for and feel its magic working in you.

Form Follows Thought

I think I’m cranky because my back hurts.  I think my back hurts because of this, that or the other out there.  But it all comes down to my thought. 

I’ve decided to listen to my thoughts to see just how the thoughts are dictating how I’m feeling.  When I listen like that it makes perfect sense.  Sometimes I can hear a constant stream from “it’s cold,” to “the cat is being a pest, I’m tired, I would rather be doing that, what an ugly car.” Chomping away at all that’s not right. 

Okay.  I take a breath.  I’m grateful for all I have.  You know that was a kind thing he did.  I’m grateful he is in my life.  Oh, but look, I have a thread coming out of my sweater.  You know all my clothes are ratty and in need of repair.  Off I go again!

It seems logical to say that my back hurts because I need an adjustment.  And if I felt better, I’d have better thoughts.  But I believe it is the other way around.  That form follows thought.  I’ve been told as much by many wise folks.  But I say, no, my back hurts because I’m not getting enough rest.  Wait a moment, maybe it’s because I’m not getting enough exercise.  Always it’s my thoughts telling me I did something wrong, or I didn’t do it enough.  Do this game enough, without awareness, and watch it grow into something worse.

If I’m going to have my life move more in the direction I choose, all the affirmations and intentions won’t work until my thoughts are more in alignment with what I choose. 

I know of two good ways to control my thoughts.  One is, of course, meditation.  I’ve found it’s best when done regularly. No matter how small the time, as long as it’s regular (that means as many days in a row as you can, shooting for every day.)  The other way is intensive journaling to unload most of that chatter.

Awareness, as always is the key to it all.  Watching to see how your thoughts are creating your reality. Coloring how you feel, emotionally and physically.  It all comes from the thoughts.

I’m going to try making that connection: between how my body feels and what my thoughts are doing.  The discomfort might well be coming from thoughts I had hours ago, but there’s no time like the present to clean it up.