Gratitude and Appreciation

I’ve cultivated a habit over the last few months that is a mighty powerful force for the positive in my life, and that is keeping a Gratitude Journal. Each day I begin my morning by writing down several things that I am grateful for and why. Many times my children, my house and the heat and protection it offers, my amazing work-from-home business opportunity and community (http://www.wiseearthenterprises.com for more on that), and my friends top the list. Some days I wake up and it’s pouring rain for the tenth day in a row, it’s dark and gloomy and it’s more of a stretch to even want to get out of bed. That’s when I grab my journal and write, “I am so happy and grateful that I have such a warm, cozy bed” which immediately starts me thinking in the direction of what else I have in my life that I appreciate.

Starting each day by writing down several things or conditions in my life that I appreciate puts me into a powerfully positive vibration which then magnetically attracts more positive aspects into my life. A smile springs to my face and I negotiate the morning of making breakfast for my three children, packing lunches and driving them to school with more centeredness and humor. OK, I’ll admit the good feelings don’t always last all the way through my morning routine, but at least I know that I am starting off on the right foot. 

Fearful thoughts arise in me, as they do quite frequently for most of us – our minds love to lead us down the garden path beginning with the not-so-innocent phrase “What if?” What if I can’t make the car payment. What will happen? Will some guy named Guido show up in my driveway and take my car away from me? Oh, that would be bad. Then, how would I drive the kids to school? If I don’t have a car and have no money to buy a new one, how in the world would we get around? Etc. Etc. My mind is taking me into a tailspin and suddenly my palms start to sweat, my brow starts to furrow, I get knots in my stomach and I start yelling at my kids. STOP RIGHT THERE!

I am in control of my mind, and therefore my emotions. I grab the steering wheel and yank it away from my terrified mind. I breathe. I breathe again. I continue breathing. And then I think, “What do I already have in my life that I am grateful for?” I’m alive, I am healthy, my kids are healthy, we have fresh water to drink and clean air to breathe, we are intelligent beings, we have a nice warm house to live in, I’ve got so many inspirational, fun friends, I’ve got good food to eat and massive abundance surrounds me everywhere. WHEW! Gratitude saved me from that train wreck again! I’m feeling relieved, I’m feeling hopeful. I know that the bumps in my road are just temporary. I know once again that I am limitless possibility and that I already have endless abundance in my life.

I ate at a fantastic restaurant in Berkeley, CA last month called Cafe Gratitude (http://www.cafegratitude.com). There are several locations in the Bay Area – I would sure like to bring them up to the Puget Sound!! They serve mostly raw, vegan food which I very much enjoy but the attitude when dining there is what is most profound. The servers ask the diners, “What are you grateful for today?” When my server asked me this, I thought of many things at once but the primary thing on my mind was how grateful I was that I was able to have the experience of dining there and was about to be served delicious food because I was rather hungry. 

I noticed that when the servers asked this question, many of the diners got a confused, hesitant look on their faces and couldn’t really think of how to respond. I realized that because I have cultivated a habit of expressing my gratitude and thinking about what I am grateful for, I can come up with an answer for that question at any time of the day or night. For some, however, this was a far stretch from their everyday way of being in the world. They came to this place of community and great food and love with hope in their hearts, but when it came down to participating full out, old fears and patterns held some back.

My server and I got into a beautiful discussion in which I happened to mention that I thought gratitude was the most powerful force in the universe. He countered, “What about Love?” To which I replied, “Gratitude is Love in Action.” I’m still not sure what made me say that, or even quite what I meant, but it made both of us think and struck each of us as a profound statement. 

If you want to keep pointed in the right direction in your life, in the direction that makes you feel good and powerful, I highly recommend taking some time each day to be thankful for the things you do have in your life instead of focusing so much on the things that you don’t have. Start a gratitude journal and write in it every day for five minutes. Join hands with your family around the dinner table, as I do with my children, and have each person tell at least one thing that they are grateful for. It could be anything. Being alive. The air we breathe. Cookies. That we are all sitting down together. This becomes even more powerful when you ask family members to say one thing that they appreciate about each other.

I am very grateful today for the opportunity to share my thoughts with all of you. People I know and people I may never meet might read this post and be inspired to be more grateful in their lives. How cool is that? Thank you for reading my blog. I appreciate having readers! Thank you to those of you in my life who have inspired me not to take anything for granted, but to continuously strive to hold myself in a place of appreciation for the massive abundance of well-being that surrounds me at all times.