Have you ever noticed how we are influenced by what we choose to focus on? The thoughts we think, beliefs we hold and lens we view life through, all shape our reality. Imagine what might change for us if we viewed our lives through the lens of gratitude on a regular basis.
Being grateful in our thoughts, words, and actions help us to see and appreciate the world around us. When we regularly practice gratitude, the need to search for peace and joy falls away. We realize everything we need, we already have. It is just a matter of focusing on the good before us and noticing who we already are.
Here are seven ways gratitude brightens our view. These simple reminders show us how powerful gratitude is, and why it deserves to have a leading role in our lives.
#1 Gratitude Gets to the Heart of the Matter
We all can get swept up in chatter, judgment, and worry. Gratitude has a way of removing the noise and stories that cause these feelings of confusion. When we focus on what we are grateful for, regardless of what may be going on, we can very quickly see what truly matters. Life is a gift. When we are living in a story that goes against this, we can use gratitude to find our way back to the truth and remember why we are blessed.
#2 Gratitude Helps us See People Clearly
We choose to see people clearly or not. We can judge others and focus on all of the reasons we believe they are flawed. Or we can use gratitude to help us see the light and the beauty in these same people around us. Love lives inside all of us. Gratitude helps us recognize the presence of love in others and feel it in ourselves.
#3 Gratitude Simplifies Everything
Life is not meant to be so complicated. If we are looking for simple solutions to feel happy in our hearts, it’s as easy as counting our blessings. There will always be reasons to be grateful and evidence to show us why all is well. If you are reading this right now — you are alive, you can read and I bet this is merely touching the surface of possible causes for feeling glad in your heart.
#4 Gratitude Accentuates the Beauty Around us
Seriously! Just look around you. Everything from the beautiful sky, to the creative genius that makes it possible for us to travel the globe. There is beauty and light in every single human being and living thing. Our only job is to open our hearts and senses, and marvel in the beauty around us. Our world is breathtaking.
#5 Gratitude Helps us Be Present
When we focus on everything we love about life, we feel good in the moment. Gratitude helps us to re-create an experience and feel a deep sense of appreciation. It feels good to create opportunities to quiet the noise and appreciate what is before us.
#6 Gratitude Grows through Practice
The more we practice gratitude, the easier it becomes to see all of the things around us that lead to feeling grateful. If you are looking for simple ways to grow a gratitude practice, use rituals to help you. You could start your day off giving thanks. Perhaps write in a journal, say all your reasons aloud, or think about them while you enjoy your morning coffee or exercise. Right before you drift off to sleep, you could write down or think about three things you are grateful for that happened in your day. The great news is, we get to create a gratitude practice in a way that works best for each of us. There is no right or wrong way. The more you do it, the easier it becomes.
#7 Gratitude Connects us to Ourselves
When we are focused on everything we love about life, we are connecting to our inner truth. Our true self will always be there to guide us on the path that sits best with who we are. Sometimes we forget who we really are, or we can lose touch with our truth. The voice that wants us to do well and encourages us to see the good in the world around us, is the one we can trust as our own. When we are thankful for what we do have, we connect to who we are and the life we are so incredibly blessed to be in.
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Emily Madill is the author of 11 books in the area of self-development and empowerment, both for children and adults. Her newest title ‘Fall in Love with Your Life, One Week at a Time’ is now being offered as an E-Course.
If you are interested in connecting to who you are on a deeper level, or if you would like to create a lasting practice of joyful habits in your life, check out Emily’s new E-Course, Fall In Love With Your Life, One Week at a Time. We are excited to be building a community of people who are all on the journey of embracing life. It is a chance to create your own life practice in a way that is meaningful to you — all are welcome.
More:
Gratitude Huffpost Gratitude Gps Guide Endeavor
Originally published at www.huffingtonpost.com on May 18, 2016.
Originally published at medium.com