Thanks for Everything!

Thanks is a powerful word that can influence each and every situation in life. If we can come from a place of appreciation, then we can feel better about our lives in each moment. How many times do we find ourselves in the company of someone who is grumbling? It is so easy to chime right in and say something about your life that adds to the drama. It is challenging instead to say something to shift the conversation to something more optimistic. "Let's intend a positive outcome." When someone is complaining, we can walk away while saying to ourselves," I choose to be happy right now!"
Louise Hayes wrote Gratitude as a Way of Life, in it she tells a story of a grandmother known for saying," Thank you God, one hundred times a day. She would chant, "Thank you God " for the sunshine pouring in her kitchen window, for the food she was about to eat and for the pot boiling over. Her grandchild ask why she said Thank you for the bad things. Her reply was that the challenges in our life make us stronger and provide contrast in order to better appreciate the good in our lives. How refreshing, to develop an attitude where we appreciate whatever happens in our life.
I have started chanting this same phrase and sometimes shorten it to "Thank you G." It makes me smile while doing it. It takes me to a place of appreciation and I realize just how blessed I am as I continue to think of other things for which I can be grateful.
I tell my husband how much I love our life and him. I appreciate the world we live in and all the opportunities that have been granted to each of us. Thanks to the world of technology we can connect from all corners of the world. We have many reasons to express appreciation. I keep a Gratitude Journal and write down what I appreciate in my life and the list keeps growing. Try this and see how many big and small things you can name in your rampages of appreciation.
Julia Cameron says," The key to practicing blessings is the willingness to accept the full value of each moment." Thank you!