ABC’s of Self-Realization: Gaining Gratitude

Gratitude is the best attitude. ~Author Unknown

If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness. It will change your life mightily.~Gerald Good

There's a recession going on for any of those who have found themselves living in America for the past several years. Heck, everyone knows there's a recession going on in several countries in the world.

For Americans, there is the ideology that we must always have more, more, more. It's the “me” generation. We “must keep up with the Jones', so we think. The economy is so bad right now, it's hard enough to keep our head above water, much less strive to keep up with those that are more fortunate.

All that said, it seems that it might be even more difficult to summon up the gumption to gain an attitude of gratitude. Remember the Law of Cause and Effect? Remember the saying, “We reap what we sow”? Well, when we choose to gain gratitude and express that gratitude, even for the smallest blessing, we will see that Law and that sowing come to full fruition. We always get back what we give out. Always.

What we think about consistently (and believe in our deepest soul) is what we will see manifest itself in our world. Therefore, consistently being thankful for the positives will consistently create more positives in our lives.

What are some things we can be thankful for on a daily basis? The fact that we wake up every day is a good start. Some people may believe the alte
ative is better. That's totally subjective – we know this. We most often have at least one person that we mean the world to. How awesome is that? We can look around and see some kind of beauty in the natural world surrounding us – beautiful, fragrant, colorful flowers, the cheerful chirps of birds singing in the trees, babies laughing or kids playing, oblivious to all the ills of the world. These are a few things for which we can be thankful.

Sometimes, when we are so overwhelmed with the difficulties we are going through, it's really hard to conjure up positive thoughts or reasons we have to be grateful. One of the simplest things we can do is get a small note pad that we can carry around with us and every time we think of something to be grateful for, we can jot it down. Each day we do this, we can add one more thing to our list. Sometimes, we may have to write the same thing twice, just so that the next day, it will jog our memory for one more instance of gratitude.

There is another saying that goes, “We do not see the world as it is, but as we are.” That's one of the biggest truths around. Changing our thoughts, slanting our perspective, pondering the positives – all these will make our world a much better place for which to be grateful.