Gratitude

“Express Gratitude. This is the most powerful tool you could be given. Gratitude can be a selected energy, and not merely an automatic response. When one actively chooses gratitude for everything presenting itself in one’s life (and I do mean everything), it sets up an energetic signature that washes over and impacts the energy of whatever is now arising. This can transmogrify (defined as: “To transform, especially in a surprising or magical manner”) the presentation itself- to say nothing of one’s entire life.”
– Conversations with God, Book 4
Gratitude is a topic that is so important in healing, and one that I’ve grappled with. How can someone be grateful for the painful things? How can I be grateful when someone hurts me? Those are big and difficult questions.
I do believe the words I quoted above, hard as they may sound. Gratitude changes one’s life. It unlocks whatever small beauties may be lurking within painful moments, and it allows the already beautiful moments to be magnified.
In my life, practicing gratitude looks like noticing the things I’m grateful for and saying small prayers of thankfulness for them. Watching water come out of the sink, I thank it. I thank the earth for creating it, and I thank the people who devised and built pipes to bring it into our home. Other times I’m thankful for my friends and family. Still other times I’m thankful for my job and profession.
Now, being thankful for even the difficult moments seems like a job for a spiritual Jedi, but it doesn’t have to be. In my toughest times, if I remember to, I will say thank you to God for being with me. I can be grateful for an opportunity to be love when confronted with its opposite. Of course it would be nice to remember to express gratitude all the time, but sometimes is good enough for me.
What are you grateful for? How do you express gratitude?