Last
month, I recalled a saying that often helped "right size" me just when I really
needed it: "Put a little gratitude in
your attitude."
When you have gratitude, your heart is open and you can receive so much more in life. But when your heart is closed, there's not a whole lot that looks or seems right. We find fault in people and situations. We're not happy and it's usually someone else's fault, not ours…or so we think.
So as we enter the holiday season (or at any time of the year, for that matter), I encourage you to take the opportunity to spread a little gratitude. I guarantee you that your heart will open. And the more gratitude you share, the longer your heart will remain open.
Here are some suggestions for ways to spread gratitude:
- Actively look for the good in someone, as opposed to making a judgment about them.
- When something unexpected happens that makes you unhappy, find and focus on a lesson you have learned from the experience, and reflect on how the experience has made you a better person.
- Perform random, anonymous acts of kindness.
- Before you get out of bed each morning, write down 10 different things you're grateful for. Do this for 30 days, and you'll be very surprised at how many things you have found to be grateful for in only one month.
- Do something unexpected for someone else.
Remember how important it is to just be "in the moment" and experience all that you have. I'm not talking about the so-called toys we collect along the way, but rather the precious things, such as our loved ones, and the things we sometimes take for granted like our health, our home, the food and water we consume, the clean clothes we put on each day, and the very air that we breathe. Then think about Who makes it all possible.
Now that's what I call gratitude.
Next week: The Saints Among Us.
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Nina says
Lovely, Michael. Namaste.