Life today often feels like a high-speed roller coaster. We’re constantly bombarded with demands on our time and attention thanks to an endless stream of digital inputs and distractions. Adding to this overwhelming feeling are the external pressures of our current world. A volatile political climate, the rising cost of living and its inherent insecurities combined with rapid societal shifts can cause deep pressure. Working together with the constant anxieties surrounding our health, our families’ well-being, and the complexities of building healthy relationships can put a strain on us in many ways. It’s a lot, and its impact can be insidious.
Before you know it, you can find yourself intensely agitated, losing faith in humanity, and braced for the next setback. The joy seems to vanish from your daily life. I understand completely as I’ve been there too! At times I found myself caught in a fear-driven spiral where appreciation and thankfulness had no place in my mind.
But here’s what I’ve learned: gratitude is the ultimate ascension attitude. To escape life’s metaphorical snake pit you can focus on what you’re grateful for and it will help you ascend out of this negative loop. You simply cannot simultaneously be in a state of fear and a state of gratitude—it’s one or the other. So, what will you choose?
When we’re constantly pulled in different directions without time to process, rest, or renew, we can become trapped in negative spirals. Insecurities can run wild and low-vibe thinking can overshadow anything positive. We sometimes forget to acknowledge the richness in our lives. This can be due to the messages we encounter daily, which often prompt us to focus on what we lack rather than the abundance we already enjoy. Cultivating gratitude allows us to truly savor and appreciate our lives with renewed grace.
Gratitude Turns What We Have, Into Enough
It can be challenging to fully appreciate life’s blessings. Consider the simple acts you perform daily, like nourishing your body and mind, feeding your family, moving freely, and accomplishing tasks. When facing difficulties, I sometimes have to start with the absolute basics, such as having two eyes and a mouth! Many activities we take for granted—like pursuing an education, affording healthy food, commuting to work, or maintaining a clean home can pose significant hurdles for countless individuals.
Recognizing your own abundance can lead to a profound sense of compassionate gratitude, though it may also bring pangs of guilt. Understand that the purpose of this reflection is to deepen your capacity for gratitude and compassion. This realization has the power to open your heart completely, fostering a deeper appreciation that allows you to value your life and see the countless blessings.
Don’t Get Out of Bed Until You’re Brought to Tears
Dr. John Demartini, author of Gratitude Effect and one of my mentors, advocates a daily practice of cultivating gratitude before getting out of bed. He recounts a powerful experience from his youth, when an elder, observing his struggles with drug addiction, instructed him “not to get out of bed until he was moved to tears of gratitude.”
This story underscores the importance of starting each day with heartfelt appreciation. By genuinely recognizing and feeling grateful for what you have the moment you awaken, you establish an energetic foundation to receive life’s gifts. He emphasizes beginning the day with gratitude affirmations, often aligning these internal statements with his personal values and vision—a practice he has maintained for decades.
While gratitude says, ‘Life is a gift’, its opposite says, ‘Life is a burden or not enough’. Gratitude is often described as the ‘highest vibration of the heart’. Its opposite could be seen as separation – the feeling of being cut off from life, love and meaning. This is where we experience alienation, despair or a sense of void creating affects on us mentally, physically and spiritually. Trust me, being a ‘beyond middled aged’ woman, I’m very aware of how having an attitude of gratitude can change a scowl in a smile or a stooped posture to one with shoulders back and spine tall, embracing life rather than letting life bring you down. One attitude has a magnetic response the other a repelling response. One behaviour draws people closer, one has people wanting to avoid you. I’m not saying we should over-ride the hardships. I’m saying the antidote for lack is gratitude.
Gratitude is choice, an attitude, an approach towards life. Gratitude says: ‘I’m thankful for this challenge because it’s growing me.’ Opposite: ‘This shouldn’t be happening, I’ve been cheated’. Again, I ask you, what will you choose?
Gratitude is a moment to moment celebration.
