Gratitude

Gratitude - the art of being thankful can seriously change our life…… for the better.

With gratitude we acknowledge and are grateful for every thing we receive, the simple pleasures in life become miracles and we recognize all that we have, without the want for more. We are Thankful for what we have received.

How many times do we take what we have been given, for granted? The little things like the smile from a check out girl, or the beauty of dew on leaf tips? The reflection of the moon on the sea, a star filled sky, the laugh of a baby. These little things are there in abundance all around us, but because so many beautiful things happen to us they do not stand out and we take them for granted. We allow the more difficult things that cause us distress to stand out and we complain about them.

When we practice mindfulness, we naturally practice the awareness of gratitude; a big smile and a thank you can brighten someone’s world and lift our own spirits. When we express our gratitude, we feel good too, our stress and anxiety lessens and our happiness increases.

So let us look for the things we can be grateful for, even the unpleasant things that happen to us, that test our patients, for that is a gift as well, the opportunity to practice patients, the opportunity to be grateful, the opportunity to practice mindfulness. And as the Master of Mindfulness said........

"Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful" -- Thich Nhat Hanh