Shifting to a State of Gratitude

For years I have consciously expressed my gratitude for what I have in my life. Amazingly, the more I express gratitude the more I have to be grateful for. It's the Law of Attraction in action. The more one focuses on something the more one attracts what they focus on into their life.

There was a time in my life that I didn't believe I had much to be grateful for. It was in my late teens, early twenties. (Several decades ago). It was a very unpleasant time for me.

The more I focused on what I didn't have and how bad my life was, the more difficult things became. This worked beautifully to support my belief that life is unfair.

During that time I didn't have the resources to raise my awareness available to me as I do today. Truth be told, there was likely information available (and lots of it), but I wouldn't have been able to receive the "gifts" of knowledge that today I willingly embrace, receive and share. Primarily because misery was familiar to me. I was comfortable in the uncomfortableness of it all.

Today my experiences and beliefs are so far removed from my earlier years, one would hardly recognize me as the same person. And in reality, I am not the same person.

The change came when I got sick and tired of being sick and tired. I wanted a better way of life. I wanted to be happy. I wanted to be joyful. I wanted to experience a life that in my early years I only dared not even dream of.

So how did the shift occur? Little by little. And yet, there were some huge shifts that occurred that culminated as a result of the little shifts.

One of the most memorable and impactful was when one of my spiritual mentors invited me to daily acknowledge what I had to be grateful for. Not quite able to grasp that I had much at all to be grateful for when I was unemployable, lived in a very tiny studio apartment that I could barely afford the $200 a month rent on, struggled to buy groceries and each month wondered where I was going to get enough money to pay my utility bills.

Without wavering, my mentor said, "Focus on what you do have rather than what you don't have. Do you have a roof over your head? Do you have food in the refrigerator? Do you have the ability to breath in the fresh air? Do you have the ability to read?"

On and on she listed things. I can't say I immediately understood how essential it was to acknowledge the smallest blessings, which in my mind I didn't view as blessings. I viewed virtually everything as a struggle. But, little by little my attitude began to shift. Little by little I was able to find something to be grateful for. Something as simple as hearing a bird sing.

When my mentor first suggested I could express gratitude for hearing a bird sing, I thought she was a bit bonkers. And yet, I could see how joyful and free she was. Free from negative actions and emotions. Free from living a life of misery. Free from things I continually worried about during that period of my life.

After a time I figured I had nothing to lose by trying it her way. The most amazing thing happened. As I began to express what I had to be grateful for, it seemed as if more came into my world that I could be grateful for.

Now, thirty years later, I am never without an abundance of what to be grateful for. I know, from the depths of my soul, that all I have to be grateful for is a direct result of my ability to acknowledge and recognize what is good in my life.

The greatest blessing of all is that with what my mentor taught me, I am now blessed to be able to share her legacy. I am blessed to have shifted my thoughts and beliefs in such a way that my life has shifted.

What was the most important thing my mentor taught me? Something so simple it can easily be overlooked.

That which we focus on expands.

Today, think about what you would like to expand in your life. Is it love? Then focus on who loves you and who you love?

Is it joy? Then focus on what brings you joy?

Is it kindness? Then be kind to others?

Whatever it is focus on it.

Blessings,

Kathleen Gage

Comments

[Lance]

Great post Kathleen!

I tend to think I am a pretty positive and grateful person (at least the last few years). However, after reading this, I do think that there is much more that I can (and should) be grateful for. Thanks for sharing this, and for the inspiring me to really work and making "grateful" a bigger part of my vocabulary.

[Kathleen Gage]

Hi Lance,

I had the opportunity to hear Reverend Michael Beckwith over the weekend and he talked about the power of gratitude. It seems this is one of the most important shifts we can make in order to make our lives better.

Kathleen