“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.” Melody Beattie
I love this little meditation on gratitude. It reminds us that feeling gratitude isn’t just about giving, it’s also about receiving. When we show gratitude, when we appreciate someone or something out in the world, we are also nourishing our inner life and our creativity.
How wonderful, how magical it would be, if we could learn to look with wonder at all that is before us, just as a child does, and shower gratitude and appreciation all around us like a healing rain. Wouldn’t that transform the world?
Consider all the gifts that flow to us when we show gratitude:
We come to see just how much beauty there is in the world.
We learn to truly appreciate the many blessings we have.
We uplift ourselves and feel more hopeful and tranquil.
We feel a sense of grace and open-heartedness.
With all the confusion and upheaval in the world, it is still a magical, beautiful place full of wonders and simple pleasures. The more we value and appreciate these, the simpler and more grounded we became. We begin to operate from a core of calmness that radiates outward and touches everyone we love and come into contact with.
Gratitude also spurs our creativity by opening us up to new experiences and ideas. When we are grateful for the work or our hands and heads and hearts, then we open the door to untold riches, to abundance.
So let’s take time today to be grateful for all that we have—work we love, fellow travelers who support and cheer us on, readers whose lives may be enriched and enlivened by the stories we share. Right now, I’m stepping outside to take a walk and to appreciate the sun and a few brave and rosy rosebuds along my path—it’s November, but they are still about to bloom. What a joy it is to see them nodding at me!
How about you? Can you fill your cup of gratitude and let it overflow as we all write on?