Stop. Drop. Be Grateful.

How do I practice gratitude? I practice gratitude by acknowledging and appreciating those things that bring me comfort and joy and hope and health. [YESSS!!!] I practice gratitude by sharing my blessings with others. [EXCELLENT!!!] I practice gratitude by grumping and whining about the things I need and wish I had.
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[crickets]

Well, the grumping and wishing are more like precursors to my practice of gratitude, like the antsy feeling a runner gets before deciding they need a run. With any hope, by the time you hit the half-century mark, you know yourself fairly well. And the one thing I know about myself is that if I find myself feeling stuck or fearful or unloved or incapable, it stems from an ungrateful attitude. 

Gratitude is one of the sweet shortcuts to finding peace of mind and happiness inside. No matter what is going on outside of us, there's always something we could be grateful for. ~ Barry Neil Kaufman

When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears. ~ Anthony Robbins

Often Sometimes I forget this about myself and continue to burrow deeper into my misery, depression and self-pity, hiding from insight and unable to rally or turn myself around. But when I find myself ruminating about all I lack, wishing for this and for that - which inevitably happens - my higher self recognizes the particular soul illness I'm suffering and leads me to the cure: 

STOP. DROP. BE GRATEFUL. 

Gratitude is an opener of locked-up blessings. ~ Marianne Williamson

It's fairly clear to me that practicing gratefulness regularly, as in daily, can keep me from sliding into fear and worry (my own personal nemeses). So why don't I do it? I try, I really do. 

On my To Do list, there is a daily task labeled "Gratitude List". I've been keeping one for years. The plan is to list at least three things a day about which I feel grateful or blessed. The reality is that I haven't made it a priority and will go for days without writing anything down then, suddenly catching myself in an anxious, whiny state, will open the list and make 25 entries. And when I do that, a small miracle occurs. My outlook brightens. Good things happen. Life is suddenly better than I'd thought. Immediately!!! And - no joke - bigger blessings and opportunities start showing up. True story! Gratefulness for the things you already have brings about more things for which to be grateful. It's a beautiful thing.

It is impossible to be both grateful and depressed. Those with a grateful mindset tend to see the message in the mess. And even though life may knock them down, the grateful find reasons, if even small ones, to get up. ~ Steve Maraboli

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

Feeling grateful is important. But so is expressing gratitude to others. Have you ever thanked anyone, out of the blue, for something they've been doing for you for years? 

"Hey listen, I just want you to know how much I appreciate you being there whenever I need an ear, shoulder (any other body part)..." 

 
"Mom, thanks for dealing with me in such a loving way during my teenage years. That can't have been easy." 

"These cookies are just a small token of gratitude for how hard you've been working, despite all that's been going on in your personal life."

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. ~ Marcel Proust

The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated. ~ William James 

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. ~ William Arthur Ward 

Too many times I find myself, when praying, asking God for this and for that. Protect my son. Give me strength. Help me help my mother. Take this fear. Heal my friends. Help, heal, give, stay, take...Grant miracles...Move mountains, please, please, please... He hears all my requests. He acts on my behalf. I still feel sullen and lost.

It's not until I remember to thank Him for all the crazy, awesome blessings and all the mundane, easy-to-overlook blessings, that I feel light and empowered. And - again - here come more blessings, flowing into my life.

If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough. ~ Meister Eckhart

You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of you joy and in your days of abundance. ~ Kahlil Gibran 

Sure, maybe being grateful just makes us more aware of the good things around us and doesn't really bring any brand new things into our lives. But 1.) I don't think so, and 2.) no matter what, wouldn't you rather see the good things than the bad?

Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance. ~ Eckhart Tolle

My mission is to start making gratefulness a daily priority, like brushing my teeth (may I mention that I'm grateful for straight, healthy, white teeth?). I really want it to become a habit. Wake up and be grateful: Thank you for my comfortable bed, soft pillow, warm comforter. Yippee...it's coffee time! Work and be grateful: I'm writing! I'm creative! I have reading glasses in every room! Clean my home and be grateful: Yay, I have a home!!! I fixed my washing machine all by myself! Thank you, God, for vacuum cleaners. Yes, even the mundane things are worth our gratitude.

My expectations were reduced to zero when I was 21. Everything since then has been a bonus. ~ Stephen Hawking.

I'm not talking about turning into Pollyanna - blind to reality, purposely ignoring difficulties, sadness and cruelty in the world. I'm saying that I want to focus on all the good, be thankful for all I'm given, acknowledge that I am richer and stronger and more well-loved than I could ever know. When I'm in a place of gratitude, I'm in a better place to share my blessings and help others. And when I share those blessings, blessings keep on coming.

What you focus on expands, and when you focus on the goodness in your life, you create more of it. Opportunities, relationships, even money flowed my way when I learned to be grateful no matter what happened in my life. ~ Oprah Winfrey

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. ~ Thornton Wilder

Imagine...we can change our own worlds, and even change the world, just by being habitually grateful - practicing gratitude. Let's do it.

When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed. ~ Maya Angelou