An Attitude of Gratitude

How do you cultivate an attitude of gratitude, or a mind of multitude into a heart of happiness? Planting a garden of gratitude in your heart can become one of the best practices you can embrace for yourself. It is easier than you may believe to acquire this rewarding behavior pattern. Being in the present moment perpetuates this and can quickly tip the scales to contentment or abundance in your thoughts.

The first present of the day is your breath, YES – be grateful for being brought to the light of a new day! Stretch and give thanks for the bed underneath you, your blanket, and the roof above you. Do you have instant access to a toothbrush, soap, and running water? Be mindful of these seemingly simple things that we take for granted. For when they are lacking it creates an inconvenience – a void. How many visuals have we had over the past months of fires, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes to remind us of the blessing of our basic needs? This is a golden opportunity to instill a consciousness of appreciation in our every day lives. If you need to revisit some footage of inconvenience – it's still out there.

I’m not implying that we give gratitude only for the things that others may lack – but rather to be still in the present moment and know what is. If all you know in the present is that you are breathing, then acknowledge that until the next breath. Again, if that is all you know, then you have had 2 breaths with which to give gratitude…and slowly expand that to what you are experiencing objectively – no judgment. Once you unlock, practice, and embrace this habit, your needs become fewer as you realize the abundance in life that just simply is.

Acknowledge the people around you with gratitude. Don’t wait until their service or love is gone, but with genuine thanks, let them know you appreciate them. One may not be the most pleasant, but showing up counts for a lot if it is the person serving you your morning coffee at the drive thru, especially if you are one that can’t smile before a cup of java!

Gratitude is the default mode for life.

Begin your day with a grateful breath, and your heart can expand that into amazing and surprising a-ha moments. The ripple effects will expand to a new awareness in each day for yourself and those around you.

….always be the love that you are