Thursday, April 30, 2009

How Much Gratitude Can You Handle?

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We often hear people say, "Don't sweat the small stuff."

That's great, and I agree, but if you are feeling a bit stressed out that comment might just turn your dial to ELEVEN instead of helping you to let go and feel better.

Gratitude is really all about PAYING ATTENTION to the "small stuff", and seeing the beauty, wonder and goodness available to us in each moment.

In paying attention to the "small stuff" we often find it is really the "big stuff", and in fact the "only stuff." Our lives are truly only lived moment to moment and how present and aware we are in each of those moments is often a great measure of the joy we experience.

So, how much gratitude can you handle today?

Try this experiment:

Say "thank you" for EVERY little thing that you do or encounter... And I mean EVERY LITTLE thing.

When you put cream in your coffee say, "Thank you for this delicious cream in my coffee." See if it tastes a little sweeter.

When you put on your shoes say, "Ah, hello and thank you beautiful feet for carrying me on my way today." See if you have a little more spring in your step.

When you do the laundry say, "I am so grateful for you: water, soap, washing machine. Thank you for making my clothing clean and fresh." You may find this mundane task feels a little lighter and your clothes seem a little softer.

When you have an argument with your spouse say, "I am so grateful to live in a world where we all have different perspectives, let our communication be peaceful and harmonious and create no illusion of separation between us." You may find you return to the discussion with a more open heart and a clearer head.

When you drink a glass of water say, "Thank you for the amazing refreshment of this pure water, may it nourish my body." See if you can feel the rejuvenating energy of the water entering every cell in your body.

You may say, "Hey, that's an awful lot to be saying to myself during the day." But, the truth is the nature of Mind means that we are constantly saying things to ourSelves. Mindfulness and gratitude help us to ensure that we are saying things that will elevate us to higher planes of existence and fill our hearts with the boundless bliss that is our True Nature.

May every little thing in your life be filled with beauty and may you feel wonder and gratitude for it.

Namaste.
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8 comments:

Unknown said...

Okay, in line with the experiment, I'm saying thank you to you for a great post! Wonderful and very useful reminders to keep thanks and gratitude at the forefront....

Namaste,
Jen

Daljit said...

Hello your blog is very good and I have bookmarked it. I found your blog through twitter.

Hope to keep in touch.

All the best.

Daljit

Jessie said...

Stumbled upon your blog, and so far I love it! I wanted to share with you a site I found imsothankful.com -- simply put I'm So Thankful for it!

It lets me 'journal' and appreciate all the things, big and litte, in my life. The best part is I get to do it publicly. I feel so good leaving a message there for people to see, and it feels so great to read other users gratitude! If you get a chance check it out, after reading your blog, I thought it could be a good match!
Jess

Unknown said...

I really enjoy your blog! I wanted also to let you know about a site I found that might interest you: www.dailybearings.com. The site provides a forum for people to share (in brevity) both the things they long for and those things that they are grateful for. Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

I loved reading this. I strongly believe in living in gratitude daily.

Jia said...

Hi there I love your blog... I also want to share this to you...

http://www.iamgr8fulforyou.com

Iamgr8ful for You Book - It helped me put up the right words to say thanks to someone.... Not only that I have given somebody a special and personalized thanks, I also have supported some great charitable causes!

Sevgi Gucum said...

When I am in good mood, and. İn good health, not festered with worries and troubles, I always say thanks to every possible thing: birds which sing, flowers that bloom, fruits, air,clouds...in short every single thing I see... I totally change when I am faced with a health problem though...so I must work on those moments too.

Anonymous said...

I just saw the movie the Gratitude Experiment with Bob Proctor, John demartini, John Gray, Douglas Vermeeren, Marie Diamond, Lisa Ryan and others. It was incredible! Here's the URL www.TheGratitudeExperiment.com for those who are interested to learn more. Are you tied in with this film? It seems that there is a big movement to encourage gratitude in the world right now. I think that's pretty cool. The world certainly needs to discover more gratitude. It seems we take too much for granted.