An Attitude of Gratitude

Voicing my gratitude for my many blessings is one of my most regular spiritual practices. Throughout the day many times I am overwhelmed with gratitude for my life and my journey. It is my belief that when we are able to realize our blessings and speak our gratitude our blessings increase... at least that has been my experience.

I began the practice of naming my gratitude about ten or twelve years ago. I started small and didn't do it regularly. It was very sporadic at best. Then about five years ago, things began to shift for us. It was then I realized that my acknowledging gratitude was an integral part of that shift. It's a long story and I won't go into it now, but we were going through a very rough patch, financially, emotionally and with each other. It was pretty bad. Desperate is a good word for it. Then there was a little movement and things changed a little bit for the better and I was very relieved and one night I expressed my gratitude to God. Very soon after that the changes kept coming and growing it was then that I realized the connection.

So, hence, now I am grateful for the gifts and the challenges too. I see how many of life's challenges are gifts that are yet unwrapped. So, I am especially grateful for them.

I don't usually post like this, but today I am going to post a list of the things that I am most grateful... things large and small.

I am grateful for:

My health

My daughter's health

My husband's health

My granddaughter's health

My son-in-law's health

This beautiful day which is just now coming to a close

My job (I love my job!)

My role at One Spirit

My teaching job

My car

My dog and cat

The trees outside my window

This beautiful Mother Earth

The smell of freshly mowed grass

My friends

The lessons I have learned

That I can afford to have my house cleaned

For the joy that my granddaughter gives

For dancing

Oh, for music, I can't forget music

For birds

For the food that I have to eat

For my bed

For the companionship of my husband

And the friendship of my daughter

I have been so blessed with all these things and more. Life has been like a tiny bud that is opening more and more. Thank you, God. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Amen

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice. ~Meister Eckhart