“The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet.” -James Oppenheim
I am overflowing with gratitude...everyday. I realize I have many, many, many, many things to be thankful for. I have a terrific husband, four healthy kids, a job I love, and the list goes on. Those are indeed the biggies, and we should certainly remember to notice those, but what about all the little, important things that we take for granted - that go unnoticed? Breathe in and out. Some people can't. Did you notice today the squirrels in the trees, the man that held the door for you, or the smile from a complete stranger? Do you truly notice all that we are surrounded by and should be thankful for each day?
In today's fast-paced, ever-changing world, we seem to be trained to never truly be content or satisfied - never fully happy because we are always thinking we need more or waiting for the next thing to arrive to make us feel fulfilled. Somewhere in all of that, we are missing the everyday moments and are preventing ourselves from being amazing by life now. In "The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present in the Life You Have", author Mark Nepo talks about one of the keys to true joy - being easily pleased with what each day brings. Seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary. From the atom in a drop of water to the atom in a human being, from the ant to the zebra, from the sky above to the dirt beneath our feet, we need to realize that the extraordinary is all around us all the time. If we open our eyes, we can witness the miracle of life in every moment, no longer waiting for the next thing or condition that promises happiness.
"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.'
-Melody Beady
In the book, "Simple Abundance" by Sarah Ban Breathnach, she suggests keeping a daily gratitude journal. Here is an exherp from her website www.simpleabundance.com...
"This tool could change the quality of your life beyond belief: it's what I call a daily gratitude journal. I have a beautiful blank book and each night before I go to bed, I write down five things that I can be grateful about that day. Some days my list will be filled with amazing things, most days just simple joys. Mikey got lost in a fierce storm, but I found him shivering, wet but unharmed. I listened to Puccini while cleaning and remembered how much I love opera.
Other days--rough ones--I might think that I don't have five things to be grateful for, so I'll write down my basics: my health, my husband and daughter, their health, my animals, my home, my friends, and the comfortable bed that I'm about to get into, as well as the fact that the day's over. That's okay. Real life isn't always going to be perfect or go our way, but the recurring acknowledgment of what is working in our lives can help us not only survive, but surmount our difficulties.
...You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you have set in motion an ancient spiritual law; the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.
...As the months pass and you fill your journal with blessings, an inner shift in your reality will occur. Soon you will be delighted to discover how content and hopeful you are feeling. As you focus on the abundance rather than on the lack in your life, you will be designing a wonderful new blueprint for the future. This sense of fulfillment is gratitude at work, transforming your dreams into reality."
Let yourself be amazed by what you find around you when you begin to notice all that is there.
SHINE ON!
