“What shall I be thankful for? My world is only illness, disappointment, and work. I am abused and money is always rare.” It doesn’t always sound bad when asking some people what they are thankful for. Sometimes it even appears many people are actually defending themselves against finding something in life they could be thankful for. It would destroy their negative picture of the world. And this is exactly the origin of their black perspective. Concentrating on the injustice in the world, the own frustration, fear, suffering, or addictions doesn’t let anything else appear. Although it is there it is not recognized.

I think everybody once found themselves at a place where they doubted that anything would ever change. Perhaps only in some areas of life or maybe overall. From there a vicious circle can be developed and it can only be destroyed with a changed point of view. Only the intention to see something else than the unwanted is already the turning point. And with the tool of gratitude, we are able to change our complete perspective.

Sit down and write a list or make a list in your mind. Gratitude begins with you, with the basic needs, with the things we take for granted which we may have gotten blind for but which we would miss the most if they were gone. Gratitude includes the people around us, our family, friends, and also those who are challenging us (because they are most responsible for our development. Next is our environment, our own abilities, and talents, the things we love doing and the ones we love doing for others. The feeling of gratitude reaches deeper into our own world of feelings, those we perceive and those we forward. The deeper you go the more you connect with the core of your being. All of a sudden you feel how your heart opens up. How frustration and sadness are dissolving and make room for a wave of joy. It is a deeply felt joy which spreads like a wildfire and light that interfuses our inner being. At one point you may feel something like comfort and security – a feeling like home.

The gratitude grows as well for that memory of a forgotten feeling of wholeness. You feel the gratitude for that fueling power and the insight of being this power and love in your very own core.  Also, there is gratitude for the being you really are. That being you connected with again which keeps your body alive. And you become thankful for eventually realizing this amazing grace. You become thankful for life – for the simple being! Because you feel that you are unlimited.

What happened with the problems? Perhaps they dissolved because they were a problem because of the way you looked at them. Perhaps they are still there but they have changed their priority. In the state of gratitude, we take the focus from what we don’t want and lay it on what we appreciate. We connect with the energy of beauty and happiness. We get to see, recognize, and remember things that were long forgotten or hidden but are still there. We can see what has always been there and always will be and that our emotional world is not defined by outer circumstances but by the personal view of the world.

Gratitude is the key to contentment,
to zest for life,
to health,
and therefore to real happiness.

When you feel grateful you feel God in you!

In Love and Light