Embrace Gratitude by Own Your Own Power
Embrace Gratitude
I have moments when I simply pause to feel grateful. I am reminded often when I listen to my breathing that breathing ushers in gratitude, embracing appreciation for life, that to be in gratitude we can perhaps hear the most and receive what is meant for us. Silence, pauses are such gifts because they grant us moments to think clearly, to be grateful for the moments, be grateful for who we are, what we have … whether it is a little or a plentitude, to look around our surroundings and inhale deeply then exhale gratefully.
As I record this podcast, we’re in a season of deep gratitude, but truly we can embrace gratitude at any time, all the time. There’s always something to be grateful for. On rainy days, we can appreciate that the trees, grass, and crops received the water they need to grow. On sunny days, we can rejoice in the warmth of the sun and the stretching of our legs as we’re able to go about our day. On cold and wintry days, we can take deep breaths, bundle up and forge ahead for what the day will bring, still knowing and appreciating that we’re able to make it. Not everyone saw the sun rise of this day, so when we are able to see the sun rise, it is a day of gratitude.
As this particular year comes to a close, I’ve said goodbye to more people than I had expected. More deaths than births. Some years are like that, and I am now of the age where I should expect that to occur more and more. So, I am embracing gratitude for the lives lived. For the impact those people had on me, my family, my friends, my colleagues. In the human form that they were, they only passed this way once. Surely, their souls may come again and may have been before but as I knew them, they’re gone. Therefore, I am thanking the Universe, the God I know for the life they lived.
We can be limiting in how we see life, or we can be expansive in how we see life. Religions and spirituality provide frameworks for doing so. It’s our choice. Of course, without any religion, there’s the same concept of seeing the glass as half empty or half full. Our choice of gratitude for the moment guides our perspective and our vision.
I listened to a guided meditation a few days ago by Katie Allen that to me was about Gratitude even though it wasn’t titled Gratitude. She titled it “Surrendering and Trust.” I think that is what gratitude is. When we are grateful, we surrender and trust. She talked about surrendering to the flow of life, loosening our grip and that this is a path to calm and peace. To see that the universe is conspiring in your favor. I say that statement, “the universe is conspiring in your favor” often when I am sharing advice to be calm and optimistic. That part about loosening our grip though, wow … that is gratitude and trust.
When we decide to be grateful for what has shown up in our life, when we loosen our grip and go with the flow, that is gratitude. Sometimes people think that being in gratitude or trusting means giving up. That’s not the same thing, that’s not what it means. It’s allowing the space for the highest good to appear, believing that what will come with the flow of the universe will serve you. Gratitude is acceptance that we can handle what comes and that we are good enough for it. Katie Allen says trust that what appears to be turbulence is temporary and things are working out for your highest good, that calm waters are waiting to soothe you. The unknown is unknown but breathe deep and feel gratitude. See the magnificence around you. Your brain may not comprehend the complexity of the perfection around you but perhaps if we are simply grateful, the magic is in the mystery and in that gratitude, the flow will bring what is needed. Ahhh…
Sara Tisdale said, “I made the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes.” Yep, that’s a good personal philosophy. Don’t sweat stuff, just be grateful.
So, whatever time of year it is, whatever is going on with you and in your world, embrace gratitude and let it engulf you. Gratitude is actually contagious, and it attracts more good to you. For our family’s recent Thanksgiving holiday together, the best thing about it was simply that we were together, and we had food on the table that all had contributed to preparing. Just that simple. My husband said the blessing before we ate and it was elegantly simple, an expression of gratitude that we were all together, that we had made it through the year, that we still chose to be family and his gratitude for all of us. Then each family member, including each child, said something they were grateful for. A simple family gathering deeply entrenched in gratitude. I don’t disparage other holidays that anyone chooses to celebrate, religious or whatever, I simply embrace the profound gratitude that Thanksgiving provides for so many people around the country. Now there’s a whole commentary that could be made on the founding of our country and how Thanksgiving began, I will save that for another day. What I speak to now, is the example of Thanksgiving that I witness for many families, the moment it is for embracing gratitude for me and maybe it serves as a guide for you.
So, the main message here is gratefulness, choose gratitude. We all really do have something, some things and some people that give us reasons for gratitude. Everything may not be going right but everything isn’t going wrong either. Every day the sun is giving us another day, whether it’s behind the clouds or brilliantly displayed in the blue sky. No matter our circumstances, actually all of our circumstances, we are being gifted.
If you’ve listened to any of my other podcasts, you’ve probably become aware that I often get guidance from Oprah. She is a deep believer in the power of gratitude. Oprah keeps a Gratitude Journal. I am not a journaler. I jot down notes when I hear something that inspires me. I obviously write observations for me to utilize for my podcasts. I think it is great for those who do like to write in a journal. For many, it can be very beneficial. I am no less of a believer in being grateful, in acknowledging gratitude, in embracing gratitude and believing that the practice of doing so makes a difference in how we interact with each other, how we struggle or don’t struggle and how we bring more good to ourselves. We open ourselves to life by being grateful. The surrender and trust that I spoke of before makes us able to receive what is meant for us. If we feel gratitude, then the flow can come in, come right to us.
Oprah says gratitude is a practice, a spiritual practice. She even states that without gratitude, she would not have the successes she achieved. Now, we all know Oprah is highly successful so for her to make such a statement is like wow. Did any of us think that she became a billionaire some other kind of way? She said her foundation for success was embracing the power of gratitude.
If every day you are breathing, you say thank you and embrace gratitude as a daily routine, you will add to your life. I promise. Always believe gratitude is worth it. And Oprah’s recommendation is to be specific about what we are grateful for. She actually said, “not just I’m grateful for my health, but I’m grateful that the sore throat that I had wasn’t COVID.” And she says be grateful in good times and bad times because it is the force of gratitude, that foundation from which all other blessings flow. So, indeed my wish for you is to embrace gratitude, life flows from it.
Thank you for listening. Always own your own power and you will win in all ways.
Originally published at https://podcasters.spotify.com.
