A Day of Thanks, Living in Gratitude!

“Gratitude, thankfulness, gratefulness, or appreciation is a positive emotion or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive.”- Jimmy Wales, founder of wikipedia.org

Thanks and Gratitude are really two different expressions of saying the same thing.  It seems to me that maybe “thanks” has a little different connotation as it is a more casual way of expressing ones feelings.  Most of us use the word “thanks” many times a day- if we are polite and well mannered, we use “thanks” all the time.

Gratitude on the other hand seems “deeper”, a little more on the spiritual side of things. When we say we are “grateful” for something, it does have a different feeling about it.  I would suggest that what we feel on this day of Thanks-giving is closer to gratitude.  As we feel a heart felt “thanks” for the things we have or are about to receive today- carry the thought in gratitude- the deeper sense of “thanks” and see if it means more to you.

I know that today is my favorite holiday here in America.  This year Thanksgiving will be a different celebration for me- a celebration that is being felt deep in my soul- a feeling of gratitude for all that has happened.  It is only fitting that in this year when I have seen so much personal growth, that a day of Thanks would be in order.  Today will be a celebration of who I am and of who I will continue to grow to be- a time for me to commit to the practice of gratitude in every moment.

I believe that when you are in the state of gratitude all the time, you have reached a point high along the path to enlightenment.  I can only imagine being in a state where I am so happy and at ease with all that is around me, that I could be so in the moment to experience it all at every level possible- harmony and gratitude.

There has been a big change in life this year.  I am learning to be more able to look at any situation and to see not only the bad and good in that moment, rather to realize that my “being” in the moment of the experience is everything.  I was listening to Bob Proctor at a seminar a few weeks ago, he said- “when you realize that good and bad are opposite ends of a continuum, there is no “good” and there is no “bad” and when you realize this, it just is”, then you can accept things and move on.  When you are finally able to reach acceptance and then instantaneously reach gratitude for that acceptance- would that not be “enlightenment”?

I have learned that the quickest way to change your attitude and thereby the results in your life is to be in gratitude, be grateful for everything around you, everything that you are and everything you can be.  That seems really simple, in fact too simple, that all one has to do is to be grateful for everything in their life- how often can we do this in our daily living?  It is easy to say and much harder to do.  However, to do this, is to empower the Law of Attraction and enjoy the results.

Today I am grateful for many things- my family, especially little grandson TJ, grateful for my friends- many of whom I have finally met this year, grateful for all the wonderful physical things in my life.  I am extremely grateful for this year of growth, for (finally) finding my purpose and for all the events that have led to this point.  It is a wonderful time to be here on the earth and the opportunity that we have to care, to share and to make this place a better one is just beginning.

Make this and every day Gratitude Day!

Namaste’ Jeff