Diane Bolden’s Synchronistically Speaking

The Power of Gratitude

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity… It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events.  Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.”  ~ Melodie Beattie

Someone once sent me the above quote in a card.  I remember being very moved when I read it.  It speaks to our ability to interrupt what seems like a perpetual condition of restless yearning.  From such an early age, we become conditioned to always look for more – to achieve more, to have more, to become more.  With such an orientation, even the fruits of our labor are not fully embraced before we feel compelled to run off and do something else. 

Gratitude is a state of being rather than doing.  It is a matter of what we focus on.  All of our striving and yearning keeps us fixated on what we do not yet have, but desperately want.  It leaves us in a state of lack, feeling as though we must compensate for something.  Gratitude reverses that and allows us to soak up and truly experience the fullness of what is already ours.  In gratitude, we can fully appreciate the richness of life around us – no matter what it looks like.  From that state, we can more fully connect with those we love and appreciate and truly enjoy each moment as it unfolds. 

As I write this post, it is almost 7am on the morning of Thanksgiving in Phoenix, Arizona.  The sun has peeked over the horizon and my kids just wandered blurry eyed and fuzzy haired into the room, ready to greet a new day.  Many people are now engaging in preparations for a feast, to celebrate – if only for a day – the richness and bounty that is theirs.  But this state of appreciation and celebration does not need to stop after the day is done.

For all that we want, there is much that we already have.  As we shift our minds into states of gratitude, we are likely to act in ways that bring more to be thankful for.  As I love and appreciate the important people in my life, I become more loveable.  As I give my time and attention to others, I realize there is a place within me from which I have much more to give.  Even with the things I really want in life, I can begin to realize the small (and big ways) in which those things are already here – and be fully present to the manner in which they are already unfolding, trusting in life’s beautiful mystery.    

No matter who you are or what your current state of affairs, you have something to be grateful for.  It has been said that whatever your place your attention, energy and focus on will expand.  Perhaps this is the true art and power of gratitude – our ability to be in a place of joy and abundance and magnify it in such a way that it truly enhances the quality of our own lives, and everyone around us as well.

Happy Thanksgiving! 

 Copyright Synchronistics Coaching & Consulting 2009.  All rights reserved.

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