The Magic of Gratitude
Thanksgiving is coming up which means we are going to hear a lot about gratitude. I'm using this time to level up my gratitude game! I'll be sharing a daily gratitude post on Facebook every day in November and I encourage you to join me!
I caught the gratitude bug about a year ago. It happened when I noticed a friend had started posting on Facebook every day with a picture and explanation of something she was grateful for. I thought it was so beautiful and, with every post, I got to know and appreciate her more.
While I admired her courage to put herself out there in front of the whole world (at least the whole Facebook world) I was not feeling that brave. I didn’t want people to think I was weird or something! (ha!) So, I decided to privately make a list in my head or sometimes in my journal of a few things I was grateful for. However, that practice got stale after about a month so I knew it was time to level up.
I decided I would take my gratitude practice to the one place on earth I was least grateful for...The New York City Subway.
To give you some background, when I was living in New York, commuting on the subway was one of the worst parts of my day. I was always in a rush and, no matter the season, the subway always sweltering, sticky and smelly.
Gratitude Magic Lesson #1: You can find gratitude in any situation.
I was absolutely shocked to find out that the subway actually INSPIRED gratitude in me. The truth was, when I saw someone who was homeless, sick or struggling to walk it reminded me how much I really did appreciate my steady job, my comfortable home and my healthy body.
Gratitude Magic Lesson #2: Gratitude is a tool to shift your mood and your perspective.
After I started using my commute to count my blessings, I realized that I was paying less attention to the subway's signature smells and crowds. It even seemed like my ride was going by faster! That's when I realized that gratitude is a tool to shift my mood and perspective. When I tap into my gratitude practice, I have the power to shift my mood from negative, resentful or exhausted to appreciative and content. I mean, it’s hard to stay in a bad mood when you’re listing all the things you’re grateful for. Gratitude has the power to raise your mood and your vibration!
Gratitude Magic Lesson #3: When you focus on gratitude the universe gives you more to be grateful for!
Now, lesson #3 took me longer to learn. I had to practice gratitude consistently in order for this one to reveal itself. It turns out, that the more you appreciate the things, people and blessings that you already have – the more the universe gives you to be grateful for. I’m not making this up! It’s the law of attraction. We attract into our life the things that we focus on and think about. Put simply, what you focus on expands so when you focus on gratitude the universe gives you more to be grateful for.
My challenge to you is to start your own gratitude practice!
