“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” Brother David Steindl-Rast |
I believe that everything that comes into my life, regardless of whether it appears to be “good” or “bad”, is a gift that is there to support me to evolve spiritually. Do I know this to be true? No. I do not own the truth. But I do recognize that this perspective allows me to feel peace, acceptance and love and I notice that when I operate from this place, I am better able to respond effectively to whatever is in front of me. Therefore, when I am my most conscious self, I look for something in the situation for which to be grateful.
But is there ever a time when this is not possible, like when one loses someone very close to them for example? I think there may be some events that are so deeply painful, like the loss of a child for example, that one never gets over it. But even with great tragedy, we can still find something for which to be grateful . . . for all the good times we had with that person, even if they were brief . . . for the wonderful lessons they taught us . . . for the memories we will have forever . . . and that can help ease the pain. When we focus on the gratitude, it helps us deal with the sadness or the anger. We are empowered to elevate our spirit and we transform our thinking and experience.
The same can be true in other situations. Let’s say you were recently laid off or a terrible mistake occurred for which you were responsible. Do you feel grateful? Probably not. Likely you feel afraid, alone, angry, anxious and a myriad of other negative feelings that leave you feeling stuck and trapped. Perhaps you even feel like a victim as the lay-off was beyond your control or the mistake was due to someone else’s carelessness. Imagine how difficult it will be to find another job or to regain trust from your boss from this framework of thinking!
What if you made a shift and decided to find something in the situation for which to be grateful? Laid off? OK, time to get creative, maybe it’s an opportunity to go in a completely different direction, to do something you’ve been wanting to do all your life. Made a big mistake? OK, what did you learn? How are you smarter? How can this make you an even better, more experienced employee, boss, owner?
Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude . . . the most important attitude you can ever embrace!
Recently, a friend, Robin Donohoe, connected me to the following site and I have found it to be quite remarkable. I invite you to take some time to look through it and allow the message of gratitude to fill your heart. Perhaps you will make it a daily discipline. Here is a video from the site:
http://www.gratefulness.org/brotherdavid/a-good-day.htm