Gratitude

 

 

Gratitude, one of the universal laws, is a very misunderstood concept.  Webster’s defines gratitude as, ‘pleasing, thankful appreciation for favors received’. This definition does not tell us everything. It is very easy to be pleased and thankful when someone gives you something or does something nice for you. This expression of gratitude is easy to understand. What are your feelings, however, if you are in a bad marriage or relationship?  What are your feelings if you are in a job you hate? How do you feel about all of the debt that keeps getting larger?  The correct answer is ‘gratitude’. The typical response from my students when I tell them this is, “How can I be grateful for a bad marriage, a dead-end job and a mountain of debt? The answer is that you must be grateful, no matter how painful it is, for the experience you have had. It is from these experiences that we can chose to learn and grow. By expressing gratitude we are able to release the Energy of these bad experiences and have closure. By not expressing gratitude, the Energy of these issues will linger, become cyclical and cause pain.

 

To help have closure on any issue we must first see that issues are lessons, not punishments. We must discover what of value there is to take from these lessons. It’s for what we discover as valuable that we express gratitude. All experiences that we have are lessons from which we learn. It’s important to change the concept of judgment (good or bad) that we assign to our experiences. All experiences are just lessons that we can chose (or chose not) to learn from. By being grateful for the small things in our lives and trying to find the value that exists in all our experiences, no matter how easy or painful they may be, we begin to reprogram the way we think.

 

As you get up each morning be grateful for the new day. Be grateful for the clean, running water as you brush your teeth, and the hot water you have as you bathe. The more you focus on expressing gratitude in your life, the more you will attract valuable things into your life to be grateful for. As you open up to the Energy of gratitude you will be able to look more easily at the lessons in your life and apply this gratitude.

 

The exercise below will help you create a different perspective on issues in your life. The work will help you find the value in the experiences, express gratitude for the lessons, and allow you to move on.

 

List your issue’s, for example a bad relationship, dead-end job, or large debt. Start with the easier issues, those for which you may already have gratitude. Begin by writing down the things about the issue you are grateful for. If nothing comes to mind simply write, “I am grateful for this issue and the lesson I have learned which will prevent me from repeating it again”. This type of work and the healing it provides does not occur over night. Take your time and over a few weeks revisit the list and write a little bit more about an issue at each sitting.

 

Remember to stay neutral.  Be kind to yourself and others as you explore your issues. When you are done with each issue write out this affirmation and then say it out loud. “With gratitude I now release this issue and forgive myself and all those involved”. As a symbol of dissolution, tear up the paper or burn it.