Food for Thought...
A Gratitude Journey
BY: MANAL GHOSAIN - NOVEMBER 23, 2011
This is the perfect time of the year to express our gratitude for all the gifts we've been fortunate enough to receive in this life.
"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it." ~William Arthur Ward
We all have experienced happiness and sadness, pain and pleasure, well being and illness, gain and loss and all sorts of ups and downs. Let's stop and reflect on our experiences with gratefulness and appreciation.
The power of gratitude
Gratitude is the best networking approach that keeps you in close contact with abundance.
Every time you express deep and profound gratitude, you align yourself with life. You become closer to the limitless creative energy of the universe.
And just like the doors of opportunity open up for you because of the people you know, the doors of universal goodness open up. The more thanks you give to the universe, the more things you will receive to be thankful for.
When you constantly think of the best, you become the best-the most powerful and effortless transformation.
The grace of gratitude
Being thankful has amazing positive effects. Studies have shown that people who kept a gratitude journal writing daily 5 to 10 things they're grateful for increased their happiness and well being, and boosted their progress towards their goals.
Being in a state of gratefulness will open your heart and raise your vibrational resonance. It will uplift your spirit in the darkest of times.
The gratitude connection
"At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us." ~Albert Schweitzer
When you express gratitude, you give yourself the gift of lightness and appreciation. You start gravitating more towards the beauty and wisdom of all of life. Every experience and feeling becomes a gift.
As you focus more on gratitude, you see the value and contribution of the amazing people around you. You radiate gratefulness in your exchange with others passing on the gift of gratitude.
You uplift others in the process and elevate the positive energy of everyone-the most precious gift you can give to the universe. And the universe returns the favor by handing you more love and beauty. It's a universal and collective win.
The journey
Knowing the positive impact gratitude has, it becomes necessary to make it a habit-to continuously give thanks for all the good that comes to you.
Today I invite you to join me and other fellow passengers on this wondrous journey and go for a 30 days gratitude adventure.
Every day we will pick one thing that we're grateful for. We'll explore it in depth and reflect positively-with appreciation-on the experience, object, interaction, or creation.
You don't have to do these in sequence or even pick the same items. The most important thing is to pick one thing every day and focus your intention and energy on being grateful with all of your heart and soul.
If you have the time to write down your thoughts at the end of the day and how you feel, it will engage your entire brain and enhance your experience.
We all have demonstrated that we have the power and ability to accomplish what we desire, thrive and overcome and move past challenges. Let's celebrate life and its blessings together.
1. Breath
If I were to connect life with one word it would be breath. We breathe life on average 20,000 times per day.
Today focus on your breathing as much as you can. Stop every hour or so and take a few deep breaths. Follow the oxygen as it goes into your body and notice how your magnificent body eliminates toxins.
Think of the oxygen in our atmosphere and how we get the necessary dose to breathe and energize the body. Look at the forms of life around you and notice how they're breathing.
How does it feel to be able to breathe? What's the value of every breath you take? How grateful are you?
2. Movement
Today become more aware of the way you move. Start when you get up in the morning, move around your home, get ready, walk, grab something, kick something, or write something. Pay attention to your feet, legs, arms, hands and fingers.
Reflect on all the things you can do because you're able to move.
3. Body functions and organs
Pay attention to how your body sends you signals all day. Become aware of how your body lets you know that you're thirsty, hungry or you need a bathroom break.
Think of all the work that goes in the background to get nutrients from what you eat, hydrate your body and eliminate excess waste.
How fortunate are we to have such amazing and complex organs functioning seamlessly!
4. Senses
Indulge your senses today by giving your full awareness to the experience. Taste the goodness in food; really feel what you touch; look with focus and see the beauty around you; listen with intent and smell the freshness of the season.
If you wish to take it deeper, reflect on each sense for a day instead of grouping them all together.
5. Food & drink
Whatever you eat and drink today, consume it with appreciation. Think of the time, effort and resources that were expended for you to have what you're having.
Give thanks to other forms of life that generously give to you-vegetables, fruits, herbs, cows, pigs, chicken, turkey, fish and so on.
6. Brain power
Observe your thoughts today. Whenever you do anything, become aware of the command that you give and how your body responds instantly.
Be thankful for the super computer that runs your body, your thoughts and your imagination.
7. Receiving
We often focus on what we're lacking and what we want to have. Let's take a break and focus on what we have received in our life.
Think of all the money you received, be it a salary, a gift, an inheritance or assistance. Bring to memory all the other gifts, big and small, that you received.
You will be amazed by how much value you have received over a lifetime.
8. Giving
Let's shift the focus to what you gave in a lifetime. Think of all the money, gifts, and help you have given over the years. Include all the money you paid for services and products, donations, and anything else you can think of.
How many people benefited because of your giving? Countless I bet.
9. Success
Taking a day to be grateful for success is something that will invigorate you and restore your confidence.
What are all the achievements in your life? Include everything that you can think of like education, family, work, health, business.
How do you feel about your success?
10. Failure
Instead of the usual self abuse over failure, let's think today of the positive side of not playing it safe.
What are the things you feel you failed at? Did you take any risk? What lessons have you learned and how did you grow from such experiences?
11. Home
What are all the things you like about your home? Reflect on the security and warmth of being at home. It's your shelter, your sanctuary and the place you always come back to.
Give thanks for the building and construction process and all the machines and people that transformed materials into the place you call home.
12. Clothing
Take a look in your closet and think of all the work that was done to create the clothing items that you wear-from design, fabric, machines and labor to the store where you bought them.
Feel the embrace of fabric against your body, the protection and comfort your clothes give you.
13. Furniture
As you get up in the morning, look at the bed you're sleeping in and how much rest it gives you. Think of the ways you are supported by every chair or couch you sit on, every table or desk you use.
Think of the process of creating these items and how they got to you-the long journey it took to transform raw material into things of beauty and comfort.
14. Belongings
From the time you get up to the time you go to sleep, look at everything in your surroundings, appliances, electronics, cars, musical instruments, pens, paper, funds you have, investments, and so on.
Just like we did before, think of all the creative ideas behind such items and the entire process of making them come to life and be of use to you.
15. Skills and gifts
There are so many skills that we have acquired over the years that we take for granted. Today think of such skills like being able to walk, push a wheelchair, read, write, use a computer, surf the internet, drive, ride a bicycle, draw, take photographs, play a musical instrument, and anything else you can think of.
You also have so many gifts that you may not even notice. Think of the things that come naturally to you, like a sense of humor, intuition, imagination and creativity, wit, ability to learn, ability to connect with other people with ease. Give thanks for all your skills and abilities
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