AWAKENING TO JOURNEY WITH GRATITUDE

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” Thornton Wilder

Do you practice gratitude often?  How deep are you willing to dig to find something to be grateful for on those days when life feels awful?  Are you grateful for change even when you don’t know what will happen?

Raising Our Vibration

I’m having a lot of trouble focusing these days.  Yesterday, as I sat on my deck proofing the paperback version of my book for the nth time, I really felt I was in another world.  The sun filtered through the trees as they swayed lightly in the breeze; their rustling leaves gently accompanied the conversational song of the birds resting nearby.  I stopped looking at the book and allowed myself to become one with this vibrant natural energy.

From deep within, there rose such happiness and contentment.  I could easily have sat there all afternoon, and probably should have.  Filled with gratitude for the lovely place where I live, I also longed to have more time for these positive experiences and realized it had been too long since I had taken the time to practice gratitude.

When I had chronic fatigue many years ago, I awoke one morning in hot, muggy New Orleans to the sound of birds and a cool breeze.  I was overwhelmed with gratitude, and as that feeling filled me, I realized that was the key to retaining a positive mindset—to find something everyday to be thankful for.  I hadn’t yet been exposed to the idea that gratitude could raise our vibration, but I knew what I was feeling lifted my energy, and I liked it.

Using Gratitude to Light the Journey

At a wisdom group I attend, the teacher quoted from an article by Tom Kenyon in which he said one of the best ways to protect ourselves from the negative energy that is so prominent in our world today is to practice gratitude.  Click on his name to read more about this and the effect of the current solar flares on our energy.  I had expected him to outline some complicated process, but his solution was so simple—just find something to be thankful for each day and allow that energy to encompass you.

Gratitude Comes From the Heart

What is so healing about gratitude is that it takes us out of our minds and into our heart and activates the energy of love.  If we are expressing gratitude for a friend, we are remembering the times they have listened caringly to our woes, not the times we were unhappy with each other.  Practicing gratitude calls on us to focus on what is good, and no matter how difficult it may be some days to find something to be grateful for, making the extra effort will raise our vibration and take us out of the darkness for awhile.  Once we have gotten in touch with that positive energy, it is easier to maintain it.

Use Gratitude to Release the Old Ways

Our world is changing rapidly and it is difficult not to experience chaos in some area of our lives.  Most of us are not terribly comfortable with change, but, at this time, the more we cling to the old ideas and the old ways, the more troubled our lives will be.  Gratitude can help us let go, too.  Express your gratitude for what was good about the old ideas, then release them, having faith that what will replace them will be better.  Resisting change only causes more pain.

Turn to gratitude each day to heal and uplift, to raise your vibration, bring some light into the darkness, connect you with your heart energy, and let go of what no longer serves you.  We are being awakened to a better world and a better life, even when it seems everything is falling apart.  But isn’t that the way it usually is?  We have to clear out the old to make room for the new.  Be grateful for the empty container in your life and envision something beautiful to fill it.

What are you grateful for today?  Please share with us.

©2012 Georganne Spruce                            ZQT4PQ5ZN7F5

Related Articles:  2012: Think with Your Heart, Think With Your Heart and Feel With Your Head (Instead of Over-Reacting), The Law of Appreciation – What Are  You Grateful For (Video)