It's always good to be grateful! But there's more to it than just good manners...when we show gratitude to others, we are giving back to them in love. When we appreciate something they've done for us fully, our gratitude to them completes the circle of giving and receiving. Although when we give unconditionally, we don't expect anything in return, receiving gratitude from others feels great! It strengthens and empowers us and helps us to give more.
Some people find it hard to receive and they can come across as being very ungrateful. Often, this is because deep down, they feel unworthy of receiving love, be it a compliment, a supportive friend, or a gift. It jars with their mistaken belief that they can't have it this good, so they push love and the person trying to offer it, away. Through learning to love ourselves more, we slowly begin to feel more comfortable receiving love from others too and in doing so, feel safer to receive in gratitude.
Gratitude isn't just about giving and receiving in this way though, it's something that we must all cultivate as a way of thinking; the attitude of gratitude. By spending more time mentally focusing on what we do have going for us and being grateful for that, we begin to manifest and attract more of the same into our lives. If we can notice and remember the good things that happen to us and the wonderful moments we experience, however small, each day, our focus of attention becomes more love-based and this is a powerful and very healing place to be!
I spend time each day, thinking mindfully about the good I have in my life, the small things, like a peaceful few minutes in meditation, or the kindness shown to me by my family. I'm so grateful to Nature for showing me the beauty of the birds in my garden, the bumble bee buzzing by and the fresh air I have to breathe each day. So many things, fresh water to drink, electricity, clean clothes, good food, a comfortable bed to sleep in...
Take time each day to find three things (or more) to be grateful for. The small things are actually the most important because they help us to shift our mental state to a more positive place by realising we have more than we think going for us. Sometimes, people find it hard to acknowledge that they have anything to be grateful for but when we start small, there's always something. By deciding to be grateful for all we have that's good in our lives, we open up to receiving more love from life. We are focusing on abundance rather than lack. When we focus on the problems or the fear of what seems to be wrong, we attract more of that too, so it makes sense to begin to shift our thinking to the attitude of gratitude.
Over time, it becomes our natural instinct to immediately think about being grateful and giving our thanks to others and very importantly, to life, for providing so well for us. The Universe wants us to have all we desire, when we are grateful, we receive more! It also helps cultivate a greater sense of security because you realise eventually that life will look after us if we get out of the way and allow it to.
Healing through the blocks and fears does take some time but we can help things along by finding the things each day to be grateful for and spending our time thinking about those, instead of worrying about what's wrong or what we haven't got. Releasing old fears and emotions surrounding lack is very important and once the emotions have been released, we can return to thoughts of gratitude. Be grateful that you've cleared away some emotional baggage, so you're more free to move forward in life in ways that suit you now.
Healing, for most, is a cyclic process, working on various aspects of ourselves and our lives. The other issues that can sometimes come up regarding gratitude include self -worth and abundance, which I'm covering in other posts, so please do check those out if it seems relevant to you. In the meantime, notice the small things that are wonderful! Look to Nature to show you something amazing to lift your mind! A flower, a colour, beauty...in the end we become grateful for having the attitude of gratitude! That in itself feels amazing and when we feel good, we relax into life, we let go and allow the good things to flow to us.
