"Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for abundance." --Eckhart Tolle
Gratitude has quite frankly, and rather unfortunately, become a cliche within the spiritual community lately that people fail to recognize the value it adds to ones practice. It seems to have become equivocated to something of a spiritual bandaid--just slap it over a problem, not give it anymore thought, and expect everything to go away. However, that's not how I view it. Instead it has offered me some powerful insights which is something I'll discuss in a moment. For now, let's take a quick look at the definition of gratitude.
According to Merriam-Webster, Gratitude is the "state of being grateful: thankfulness". It's a state of being which I feel comes when we are in our hearts, not in our minds.
You see, if there isn't an emotional connection when you write or say something you're grateful for then they simply are nothing more than empty words. This can be challenging when life isn't going smoothly but unless you can fully feel what you're grateful for, unless you can feel the thankfulness swelling up within your heart, it doesn't trigger the Law of Attraction because energy isn't flowing. Think about how much energy you spew out carelessly whenever you complain. It's effortless, right? There's emotion behind it, whether that be anger, regret, frustration, etc.. If you're just spouting off words, without any emotion behind them, with perhaps only the thought that this will bring positivity into your life, then more than likely, it'll fall flat. Gratitude has a way of changing your mindset, mood, and life but you have to allow it...something that doesn't happen with just words.
"Gratitude is an opener of locked-up blessings." --Marianne Williamson
Last week I was part of a week-long workshop on Gratitude and while I try to remind myself to be grateful, it isn't always easy...especially when you've lost sight of the blessings already present in your life. This was one of the lessons that cropped up for me and I soon realized that most of what I complained about now were answered prayers from the past. The very things I now complained weren't good enough were exactly what I'd dreamed of having...that's pretty eye-opening if you ask me.
"Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty." --Doris Day
This didn't come through while meditating but actually putting gratitude into practice which I believe is key to every concept. Unless we're willing to commit to doing the work, and experimenting, we'll never know if it works or not. The above understanding came to me while I was literally in the middle of complaining about nobody helping me wash dishes. For the past week and a half, it'd been only me and quite frankly, dishes are the one chore that I cannot stand. I'd rather scrub the toilet than do dishes and I have no idea why. So, while I was in the middle of bitching, I suddenly remembered that I was focusing on gratitude that week, which immediately helped me shift my mindset. I began listing things aloud for which I was grateful when suddenly the thought entered my mind.
You see, a few years ago I was completely homeless and living out of motel rooms. I'd gone from my mother and I co-owning a trailer to suddenly having nowhere to go. If we couldn't pay the amount for the room that week, there was no working it out. We were immediately out. It was stressful, annoying, and just depressing. As there was no stove, all of our food had to be fast-food and I'd never before missed home-cooked meals as much as I did then. I prayed and prayed that we'd get back on our feet and have a home again. So, as I was bitching about having to do dishes, I realized just how much I would've loved to be doing just that a few years back because it meant home-cooked food. Once I came to that epiphany, I was able to complete the chore with love and gratitude within my heart as I realized just how blessed I was.
"Gratitude turns what we have into enough." --Aesop
It also helped me understand, recognize, and honor the blessings already around me that I take for granted. It's like once our prayers are answered and we receive the things we yearned for, we fail to remember their significance and yet can always seem to find something missing or that could be improved. Of course you're allowed to want to improve and better things but what I mean is...you can't lose sight of how it's already a blessing. It's about shifting from complaining that something isn't good enough to instead being grateful for it and simply wanting to improve. It's an energetic difference with the latter coming from the heart. It's coming from a place of love and thankfulness instead of lack. Abundance vs lack, really.
As my week continued, I noticed that while things may not have gone according to plan, shit hit the fan, I was able to stay centered and calm. I was able to recognize the brighter side of the situation. It was more heart-centered living and believe me, it truly makes a difference. It's an awareness of the little things that add up significantly...if we allow ourselves to pay attention. However, I will add that something I personally noticed also cropping up, after an amazing week of creating a gratitude practice, which I'll return to in just a moment, was expectation. After a week, I suddenly woke up one morning and just felt off. The energy was funky and I couldn't understand it. I tried returning to my gratitude practice but everything felt weird. After meditating, I realized it was actually my feelings of unworthiness rearing their ugly head.
Have you ever had that feeling when everything is going so well that it's like you're waiting for the shoe to drop? Like you just know that something bad is about to happen because you're having it too good? That was me. I was expecting my life to suddenly take a turn to shit, simply because my past week had been amazing. I had to lean into these feelings and figure out where they came from. I had to be open and allow myself to feel what I was feeling. Shoving it aside, putting on a fake smile, and spewing off a list of "I'm thankful for..." wasn't going to serve me any good. I would be masking the pain versus treating it. Now that I have a clearer understanding about where those feelings came from and what issues I need to work on, I can use my gratitude practice in tandem with my shadow work to heal and release those underlying issues.
We've have to be real. We can't just pretend everything is hunky-dory and I think that's why many people scoff at positivity and gratitude. They've become superficial ways to cover up the pain and when that pain only begins to fester and seep through, eventually exploding in full force, people deem it all bullshit. However, if we utilize it with shadow work, if we allow ourselves to come from the heart, then we'll reap so many benefits.
"Gratitude and attitude are not challenges; they are choices." --Robert Braathe
If you're one of those people who believe it's nonsense as well, I invite you to try it for a week. One day is better than none but to truly feel the effects of such a practice, I would recommend beginning with a week. Take a look at my practice below and either adopt one or two of them and tailor it to your own practice or use it as a springboard for inspiration in how you can go about adding it into your day and spiritual practice. Just one week. Remember: You must come from your heart. Take a few deep breaths and lower yourself into your heart space.
My Gratitude Practice
I actually have made Gratitude a HUGE part of my life so for many this may be more than what most people do but I have found that since I was so programmed to complain, this is what worked for me.
In the Morning
I always begin my morning by meditating. This is usually the time I'll work with and invoke my angels so since I'm in sacred space, tuned into my heart and spirit more, I'll usually either say aloud at my altar or write in my journal a list of anywhere from five to ten things that I'm grateful for that morning. I try to keep it current so I don't fall into that trap of naming off the same things over and over again. My mornings are weird in that I get up, get ready, take my dad to work before returning home by 8 am so there's always something for me to list. If nothing happened, I'll go to the usual "I'm grateful that I woke up." but like I said, you have to feel it. I really have to feel that I'm so very thankful to have woken up and I'll usually add something like, "because not everyone was given that blessing".
Throughout the Day
This one varies because I do it whenever I catch myself complaining. Yup...which can then be a whole lot, depending on the day and traffic. (What can I say, I'm a country gal living in the city...it is what it is.) Here's what I do because I understand this one can be hard. In the moment usually is. 1) I recognize what I'm doing without judgement. This is important. There's never any shame or anger towards myself. 2) I see what exactly it is about the situation that is triggering me. 3) I ask myself what lessons can be learned from this or what can I take away? For example, I know traffic sucks so I need to give myself time to get where I'm going, play music I enjoy, and just breathe. 4) What are three things that I can be grateful for in that moment and try to highlight what is triggering you. So, when it comes to traffic, I could give gratitude that I have a functioning car that allows me to get place to place without walking. I could be thankful to have a license so I don't have to depend on others for rides. Etc. Etc. This one takes some practice but if you can breathe and drop into your heart (if you're driving, do not close your eyes when you do this! I found this was something I wanted to do and I'm not exactly sure why...) then you can do it.
At Night
This actually became one of my favorite ones because I made it into like ritual of sorts. What I do is go to my altar and I invoke my pantheon and Deities I work with currently. I sit in Their presence and breathe deeply for a bit. I do a lot of breath work, as you can tell. Once I find my heart center again, I speak aloud and give thanks to Them for the blessings of my day. I'll go into each blessing individually with a brief explanation about why I'm thankful. I recognize that all comes from the Divine and so this is my way of connecting with Them and honoring that gift. Sometimes I'll give an offering of incense as a token of my gratitude but other times it'll just be my words and sincerity.
As I said, this doesn't have to be anything difficult or lengthy. I will not lie and tell you that it'll be an easy task because we've become so accustomed to seeing what's wrong in a situation versus what is right. We're conditioned to complain. If you're at a difficult point in your life, this may be extremely daunting and difficult to do, and I understand that. Just remember that you are not working to mask the struggle in your life but instead celebrate and honor the miracles, regardless of how small.
The other day I was having a rough day and as I took the trash out, lightning bugs (fireflies) were beginning to flash in the night. I haven't tried to catch one in years but somehow I found myself grinning and hurrying after one. I did catch it and as I let it walk around my hand, where it would occasionally fly from finger to finger, I was entranced at the beauty of the Universe. This small bug instills so much awe, magick, and joy in our hearts. He started to fly away but came back and sort of flew in front of my face for a moment or two which left me just beaming. It felt like we were connecting as spirits and perhaps we were. So, that night, one of my things I said was, "I am grateful for the unbridled joy that I felt earlier while catching lightning bugs as I forgot how full of magick and wonder they truly are. I forgot what it was like to allow my inner child to play freely."
It's the small moments that can create the longest-lasting impact on us.
Happy Thursday, My Friends.
I am truly grateful for each and every single one of you who takes the time out of your busy day to read my posts. It honestly means the world to me.
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