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Category: Emotional
The purpose of expanding your gratitude
is to bring abundance and peace to your life by focusing on what you already have in your life, instead of what you lack.
It's easy to focus continually on what is missing from our lives. Every time we turn on the TV or listen to the radio, we
are bombarded by visual and aural ads, insisting that we need the newest thing, the next best thing, that what we have is
obsolete. While there may be truth in advertising, we need to adapt to change, but we must also realize we have a remarkable
amount of tools at our disposal already, no matter what the circumstances are.
Take a moment and read what Robert
Stuberg says about gratitude in his own words, "Here's a story from my life that reminded me where happiness ought to begin.
One day, driving to work, I happened to notice a large boulder-at least four feet high - that had been placed as the centerpiece
of a garden in front of one of the houses along the road. The owners had painted their house number on the boulder in green
letters, a foot high. I could see there were some words printed under the numbers and they were the words, 'reasons to be
happy.' Three thousand and one reasons to be happy! I admit, I was a little skeptical about this sentiment. But those words
got a grip on me and wouldn't let go. I decided to see how many reasons to be happy I could think of before the light turned
green. I doubt that I came up with 3001, but if my commute were any longer, I might have! With the help of this rock, I had
discovered the healing power of gratitude!"
- From "Creating Your Ultimate Destiny," Session 1.
Here are just a
few suggestions to experience gratitude right now:
1) Begin with a sheet of paper or at your computer.
Make
a list of everything you are a grateful for, however small. If you don't know where to start, here is a beginning: "you are
alive."
2) Start small and build upon what makes you happy.
Start with simple feelings, we take for granted,
the warmth of the sun on our face, a smile, etc.
3) Do one thing to experience the feeling of gratitude.
For
example, if you listed you are grateful for "the sun on your face," go outside and bask in its warmth. If you listed, "my
favorite pet," then go to that pet and show it some affection. If you listed "your parents," then call, write or tell them
how you feel.
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