Gratitude

Giving thanks is so imperative to who we are as humans.  Love is one of the best ways to be able to give gratitude.  Dr Sue Johnson, in her book, "Hold me tight" states:

We know know that love is, in actuality, the pinnacle of evolution, the most compelling survival mechanism of the human species.  Not because it induces us to mate and reproduce.  We do manage to mate without love! But because love drives us to bond emotionally  with a precious few others who offer us safe haven from the storms of life.  Love is our bulwark, designed to proved emotional protection so we can cope with the ups and downs of experience.

This drive to emotionally attach, to find someone who we can turn and say, "Hold me tight", is wired into our genes and our bodies.  Its as basic to life, health and happiness as the drivers for food, shelter or sex.  We need emotional attachments with few irreplaceable others to be physically and mentally healthy---to survive" 

If you know this love, give gratitude, not just once in a day, but all day long.  Show gratitude for the people in your life who have lifted you up and helped you come out of your rut.  Show gratitude for the amazing places you have seen and see on a daily basis.  Give gratitude for the nourishment the universe provides to you on a daily basis, both spiritually and physically.  Give gratitude for the moments in which you stare endlessly at scenery in your life and realize that you are truly connected in this place.

You don't need to get anything in order to give gratitude.  You can give thanks all day and all night.  The more you give it the more rewarded you feel.  It begins a circle and that circle spreads to all of those around you.  Before long you have built a community of gratitude and love.  Imagine how big your circle of gratitude and love can grow?  It truly is limitless.

I am thankful for all the love and gratitude I have received over the last weeks, months and years.  I am thankful for all the amazing people I have met, even if some of those people are no longer in my life.  I am thankful for the incredible experiences that I have had, because without them, I would not have such a grasp on gratitude.  You can practice gratitude on a daily basis by giving thanks.  One way I have found to show gratitude, is to do something nice for a complete stranger. It could be small like buying a cup of coffee or a meal, or as big as donating a car or money to a charity you believe in.

Gratitude is great and should be practiced on a daily basis.  Trust me, you will never regreat it.  Thank you!

Until next time...