The gift of gratitude

I want you to think of about a time when you were grateful or someone that you were grateful for. It only takes a minute to think about that gratitude and you know what, your heart opens up. You feel more alive, and you feel connected. That is what gratitude does.

Gratitude comes from within us. When you practice gratitude, your world, the way you see the world changes and you change inside. It’s powerful!

I started a gratitude practice a year and half ago. In my life I have had a lot of uncertain devastation that has happened that I didn’t expect. I realized in my thoughts, because we teach positive thinking in Reaching Higher, that often I woke up fearful and at night I would go to bed sometimes with fear. I realized that I was waiting for the next shoe to drop.

But in the last year and a half when I focused on gratitude, I would take out my journal in the morning and write my intention for the day and write out five numbers (1-5). My intention was to look for all my blessings and for what I was grateful for that day.

So, I spent the whole day looking for the things that I was grateful for. It could be a smile on a child’s face, it could be a butterfly, all the little things. I found out that after time, I was going to bed, and I was thinking about all the great things that were going to happen to me. The next morning when I woke up I wasn’t afraid — I was thinking about all the blessings and all the things that I’m grateful for and all the good that will happen for me that day.

What it is, is a shift in your perception and it just blesses you. Because your thoughts create your world. It’s magical when you spend the whole day looking for what your grateful for. This holiday season, I want that gift to be yours!