Many people spend their time focused on what they don't have -- on their ambitions or goals, on the money they want to earn, on the things they want to buy for themselves and their families.They focus on what they don't have, and forget to notice and give thanks for what they have.
I love the idea of Thanksgiving -- a day to remind us to give thanks, and I wish it were celebrated right across the world. Our lives would be transformed if we got into the habit of giving thanks, not just on one day of the year, but every day.
Often a person who has lots of material things finds it hard to understand when they see someone, who in their opinion has far less than they have, who seems to be happier than them. The reason is simple -- the person who appears to have so much less appreciates what they have, enjoys it, and gives thanks for it.
When we give thanks for what we have, we recognize all the blessings that we are receiving; we put our attention and focus on to what we have. We move forward in our lives with gratitude, one step at a time, living our lives as they are meant to be lived. When we live our life in gratitude we focus on doors that are open, and doors that may have seemed to be closed often open up.
When we put the focus on what we lack, we get anxious and worried about it. We fail to move forward, we tend to get fixated with trying to open door that are not open for us at that time and when we do this we get into a cycle of stress, feeling we never will get what we want, a feeling that stops us from noticing, let alone appreciating, the joys that are already in our lives.
Every time we say a heartfelt thanks to God -- or to another person -- our joy and blessings are increased. But the angels tell me that it is not just our joy and blessings that are increased with gratitude. They tell me that when we shed a tear of gratitude for what we have blessings burst forth from our tears, blessings for others less fortunate than us.
Gratitude is in fact a prayer -- a prayer that blesses not just you, but everyone in the world.