Gratitude: The Happiness Magnet

Gratitude is something that has really been on my mind lately.  Today being Thanksgiving is a way to nationally celebrate this gift of gratitude though I am setting my intention NOW, to make it a daily, conscious habit. 

I know how powerful it is as it has had a profound effect on my life to this point.  Yet, to be honest, I have not cultivated this very obvious spiritual gift as much as I could. 

I believe that it takes conscious choice, at least until one forms a definite habit of it, to see the bounty of things to be grateful for in one’s life.  It is all to easy to get snagged on what is “wrong” with the world as this is the dominant form of news that gets perpetuated both online and off.  It takes conscious effort, clarity of heart and mind, to stay focused on what is “right” about life. 

In reality, it is all good.  What you see before you, what shows up in your life is but a reflection of your own perspective, or creation.  What I mean by this is that HOW you see what is before you determines your actions and thus experiences. 

Before you say, “I can’t help how I feel”, or that you are a victim of your negative perspective, try reading the book “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Dr. Victor Frankl.  He is a person who went through more brutality in Nazi death camps than I will probably ever even come close to, even in a time of world war, Heaven forbid.  Yet, he said one very powerful key that gave him the serenity and peace which attracted to him a safe journey out of his hellish experience and that was this:

     He realized that he had the ability to maintain “the last of human freedoms” – the ability to “choose one’s attitude in a given set of circumstances”

Even though “all hell” was breaking loose in his physical world and he had lost everything, he chose to not “lose his mind” by deciding, from the heart, to stop resisting and hating his circumstances.  He found something to be grateful for.  I believe that this is why he lived to tell his story. 

It has inspired millions, even me, to this day.  I was not even born when he went through this.  This is an example, though extreme, of how we ultimately determine how we experience life.  If we learn from the mirror of life, what it is reflecting back to us, we can grow. 

Otherwise, we can choose, and it is a choice ultimately, to stay small, and contribute very little to the big picture of life, our own and others.  Gratitude has the power to break the spell of little “me” self-absorption.  It can mend your finances, your health and your relationships.  It is a byproduct, of that which never fails – LOVE!

Here’s wishing you the peace that passes logical human understanding; an attitude of gratitude is a powerful magnetic force for happiness and uplifting change! Have you counted your blessings lately?