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“I would maintain that thanks are the highest
form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”
~ G.K. Chesterton, British writer ~
Baruch
Bashan (The Blessings Already Are)
There is so much to be grateful for. It's amazing
how many blessings are present for us. Even if we have less money than we
had last year, we have so much to be grateful for.
The human being, which is also an animal, has a need
to exist and survive. The mind is employed to continually look for what is
wrong so it can be fixed. It is a survival mechanism of the organism.
Finding what's wrong so it can be fixed, so one can be clothed, one can be
housed, one can be fed. And there is nothing wrong with that.
Yet where we are, in our lives, there is way more to
be grateful for than we take time to acknowledge. Even if we acknowledge
it, we don't take it in. We don't even get it, we don't get how abundant
and blessed we are. It is so much a part of the fabric of our existence,
we take for granted the blessings that are abundant in our lives.
We have heat in the winter, a/c in the summer and
toilets that flush. Many of us have more than one toilet in our homes. We
also have kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms and even more. And that's just
what is abundant materially! It is so easy to take for granted that which
has become obvious and has faded into the background.
To nurture the consciousness of gratitude, to live
in the blessings that already are, is to call yourself awake and to notice
the grace and ease that is ever present in your life.
Some people like to do that with a gratitude
journal, or sharing blessings at the end of the day with their spouse, or
at the dinner table. How do you do it? I would love to hear how you have
focused on the blessings and your gratitude.
Even the fact that we can connect with each other
via this medium of the internet is also a blessing. Please, write
to me, and share with me the gift of gratitude in your life. How have
you learned to nurture and grow gratitude inside of you?
Baruch Bashan (The Blessings Already Are)
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P.S. According to a long-term study on the power of
gratitude by the University of California, writing gratitude journals and
practicing gratefulness on a regular basis causes the following happy
side-effects:
Promotes Good Health • You’ll enjoy better
physical and mental health, a better outlook on life, and you’ll be more
optimistic, Expressing gratitude is one of the fastest ways to pull
yourself out of a slump.
Inspires Success • You’ll be more likely to work
towards your personal goals, more alert, enthusiastic, determined and
attentive.
Makes You a Better Person • Your friends will see
you as more generous and helpful, you’ll be less envious of others, and
you’ll love helping others.
Helps with a Good Night’s Sleep • Studies on
expressing gratitude show that you’ll sleep better at night, and feel
more energetic during the day.
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"If you tell the truth, there is more to be
grateful for than there is to fix."
~Gangaji~
“Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that
we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how
much we have we will not be happy—because we will always want to have
something else or something more.”
~Brother David Steindl-Rast~
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Copyright 2009 by Leslie Karen Sann, Living by Design
Visit this link for contact information:
leslie@living-bydesign.com
Reprint permission granted in part or whole when the following credit appears in full:
Copyright 2009 by Leslie Karen Sann,
Living by Design. All rights reserved.
Web site. http://www.living-bydesign.com
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