Gratitude VS preoccupation

Glorious morning!

Today the focus is on gratitude.I once heard someone say, If we are not grateful for what we already have, how can we possibly expect to be given more. I happen to agree with that. There are so many quotes about gratitude, and I'm thinking because they know the power it brings. John Ortberg has a quote I love.

"Gratitude is the ability to experience life as a gift. It liberates us from the prison of self- preoccupation “

John Ortberg is a renowned evangelist, christian author, speaker and a former pastor. What is gratitude anyways? Well, simply put, thankfulness. To be thankful, so when he says to experience life as a gift, that requires looking at one's life and focusing on things that you are thankful for, like something was given to you. If we think long enough, we can come up with a plethora of things. Let's start with the basics that everyone can be grateful for.

An abundance of air, water, and food ( there is enough food for everyone, only bad governments don't make sure everyone gets access ) next we can be thankful for the beautiful life giving energy of the sun that shows up everyday without asking. We can all be grateful for the insect and animal kingdom that shares this planet with us, I mean just taking bees out of the picture would disrupt all of the vegetation of the entire planet. Imagine no more flowers, and so much more. We can be grateful for each other to share this miracle of life and learn the endless capacity of love. We didn't create these things, They were already here to sustain our lives in so many ways. So I think it's safe to say they are gifts.

Now how does gratitude liberate us from the prison of self-preoccupation? I feel that today more than ever we are preoccupied, and yes technology plays a tremendous role. If we are constantly preoccupied with pleasing ourselves and looking for our next fix of pleasure, we can get lost in self serving. When our world shrinks and becomes just about us, we don't see the bigger picture, you know the trees, flowers and bees, the gifts. Being thankful for what we already have makes us less desperate for things we don't have, less preoccupied in striving for more. Ever hear the saying, less is more? By recognizing we are enough, we have enough and will continue to be enough and have enough can really help ease the striving for more. Yes we need to focus on our goals and dreams and take action to achieve and obtain, but we can do that with a grateful heart and make sure we are balanced. Too much focus on what we don't have and not enough gratitude leaves us unbalanced and unhappy. If we focus too much on what we don't have, it doesn't feel good. When we give thanks to what we already have, it feels good. We can’t be negative and grateful at the same time, it's impossible, but to choose which one we want to focus on is not impossible. We tend to take things for granted ( common human trait )

I, For instance, had an amazing, loving mother who would have given up her life to save mine in an instant without hesitation. I was very blessed and so grateful to have experienced the power of her love. She also gave it freely without expectation, another gift right? Well I wasn't always so grateful to have her around. I took her for granted ( not on purpose of course ) at times and took my frustrations out on her. We humans tend to do that when we know the person will always forgive us. We tend to forget that one day they won't be here with us physically. In my selfishness at times I was not always grateful she was such a giving force in my life and was short with her and not always pleasant to her. I even got frustrated with her at times when I was her main caretaker at the end of her life, ya! That was a horrible regret for me when she passed and I had time living without her. Had I been grateful more of the time that I had the gift of caring for her in her fragile state, I would not have these regrets today. I have cried many times apologizing to her since. The tears of regret could have easily been avoided with more gratitude. How is your gratitude level these days? Are you preoccupied with things that are taking away from your life? I can help bring some clarity . Set up a free discovery call today. Peace be with you, Dawn

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