Cultivating gratitude means that you choose to focus your time and attention on what you appreciate. Focusing on what makes you feel appreciative for, such as sleeping in a warm bed every night where too many people don’t. Being able to support yourself financially, where again there are so many who can’t.
Cultivating gratitude is key to controlling how you experience your life which of course results in a harmonious state of well-being. I’ve heard it said that your psychological well-being depends less on the things that happen to you and more on the things you pay attention to, so something to be aware of.
It makes perfect sense that what you pay attention to affects the way you see your life. For example, if you pay attention to your bank balance that often dips into the red and kind of just keeps you afloat, you’re not going to feel much gratitude for your financial situation. However, when you pay attention to what your finance provides you with, such as a beautiful home to live in, a car to get around in, food in your fridge and opportunities to go out and enjoy your life – even if that is on a limited budget – it’s much easier to feel gratitude for your finance.
My guide also always says that what you pay attention to, you become conscious of. And that’s so true. It’s all about where attention goes, energy flows. And where energy flows, you feed that focus. So where your attention is on what you’re struggling with, essentially you’re placing energy into those struggles and they just continue to live and perpetuate. When you see your struggles as an opportunity to grow, develop new skills, participate in different relationships etc, you find that those struggles are actually blessings. And when you feel blessed, you’re so much more able to feel gratitude.
They say that gratitude is all about attitude and I have no doubt that it is. There are always two sides to everything. I’m sure you’ve all see that meme of the two men travelling on the train. The one is sitting on the side of the train looking out at the rocks of the mountain as they pass them by. The other is sitting on the side of the train where he can see the magnificence of the vista before him that being up in the mountains affords him. Two people travelling on the same train, having very different experiences of their journey. Think about that!
So cultivating a life of gratitude certainly brings you a much fuller life. You know it’s all about the glass being half empty or half full. I can probably go on for another page just with analogies, but I’m sure you know what I mean. And believe me, I know how easy it is to focus on the negative ‘stuffs’ that are happening in your life. I know how easy it is to become despondent when you try, don’t succeed and feel like a failure. But, and there is always a but… with every two sides to everything, it is possible to train your brain to find the positive angle to everything that you are experiencing. Because all those difficult experiences are giving you the chance to grow, to make a difference in your own life, to overcome the challenge and come out on top.
Life is never out to get you and by the same token, no-one is coming to save you. You have to learn to be your biggest and most supportive ally. That means that you have to always be objective when you face difficult situations and challenges. Being objective gives you the opportunity to set your emotions to one side and to see yourself from the outside in rather that from the inside out. And when you do, you realise that nothing is ever happening to you without you giving your permission, without you giving it your power.
So take back your power today – cultivate a life of gratitude and you’ll be amazed at how much fuller your life will be.
Author: Spirit Connection
Spirit Connection is an online platform to facilitate connecting light workers with people seeking their help.
