Gratitude

One of my favourite practices is gratitude! When I first heard about gratitude, I was pretty negative and quite greedy. My motivation to give it a go was to do with the law of attraction and that I’d heard, “You can’t receive more until you appreciate what you have.” When I heard the word “grateful” I immediately thought back to my mum practically yelling at me, forcing me to eat peas with, “There are people starving in the world! You should be grateful!” So off I went to practice this so called gratitude. I sat in my room and listed what I have, in my head. I didn’t feel anything and was confused, wondering what all the fuss was about. Later, I was listening to an audio with Bill Harris and Joe Vitale, they mentioned the importance of gratitude and when practicing, compare your life with those worse off than you.

Attempt number 2, this time I felt it. I started with the basics, the necessities of survival; food, clothing, water and shelter. Comparing what I had to those worse off than me, I realized I had a fridge and cupboard full of food while others were starving. I realized I had a house with several separate rooms, insulated with air conditioning and heating while others were homeless or lived in mud huts. I realized I not only have clothing for all seasons but for fashion and looks, with accessories to match and so many pairs of shoes I lost count while others couldn’t care less about whether their jacket matched their shoes, they’re simply desperate for warmth and comfort. I realized that I not only had clean running water but I had it in several taps throughout my home, with a choice of hot, cold or in between, there’s taps outdoors for the garden and we $h!t in drinking water while others walk for miles to fill a container then have to carry the water back on their head. Those were just my survival needs, I also have many leisure items such as books, games, movies, electronics, white goods, furniture and so much useless stuff that it puts my greed to shame!  

I felt as though I was blissfully floating, I had never felt so good in my life, and better than any drug, I get the same high every time. I completely accepted my life, I didn’t want or need anything more. What I also love about gratitude is it brings you to the now and the realization that right now, in this moment everything is amazing!

Many of us are focused on having more, achieving more and when we get more that’s when we’ll be happy…  However, with gratitude, you come to a realization that we live in a spoilt society with abundance and we can be happy right now as we are. As long as you hold happiness in the future, it will stay there.

Gratitude can also be used to feel better about something in particular, you can be grateful for your body, every part, every function and come to complete acceptance; who you are, your personality, your car, your partner, your children, your friends, your job, your boss, public transport, your neighbourhood, your dog, plants, animals… the list is endless. Give it a go and have fun with it… After all, it could be worse ;)
What are you grateful for today?

Namaste

Belinda