
Expressing gratitude habitually is a game changer.
It just dawned on me that I was meant to launch this blog Thanksgiving week. Well, here we are. And what better to post about than Gratitude? It’s funny, it’s amazing, it’s fantastic how divine timing works out….
Gratitude has been such a HUGE factor in my life lately. Gratitude and faith are what keep me going. For real. Gratitude is an amplifier, guys!
Did you know, whatever you’re thankful for, you receive more of? Did you know that God/the Universe can tell if you’re authentic in your gratitude for something or not?
Expressing Gratitude : Before I ever did intentionally
Let me preface this next bit with : I wasn’t raised in a religious home. I was raised in a home where half the people knew there was “something else”, and the other half were die-hard atheists. I was confused, to say the least.
Storytime.
Something that always bothered me while growing up was visiting my dad’s house during the summer/winter and having to pray over my damn food. ‘Cause we didn’t do that at home, and dammit, if the food is in front of me, I’m ready to friggin’ eat it. I don’t wanna wait for everybody else to sit down, and then wait for a prayer to be said, and then have to mumble the word “Amen”. Praying over food was like, bizarre to me. Like, yeah, I’m grateful I have food, but why is it SO important to express gratitude for it E V E R Y T I M E? Imagine 7 year old me, sitting at a table, rolling my eyes, thinking “Come on guys, really? π”
As I grew up a bit, I figured out it was “best” to just go along with things like that. It’s not that big of a deal, it takes like 5 seconds (if that). It’s just a habit for some people. I’d never sat down and really let myself feel what gratitude was. I was just “blindly grateful”.
Keep it genuine!
Actual gratitude though. You know what that feels like, right? To just sit there and thoroughly feel through the gratitude of whatever it is your thankful for? The abundance of joy and love that sweeps over you. ‘Specially if one of your larger prayers has been answered – you feel so full, you almost start crying out of joy & love? Its definitely up there on the list of “Best Feelings in the World”.
I can’t even begin to tell you an accurate estimate of how many times I’ve read/heard something like : “If you’re feeling ‘down’, count your blessings”. Or, “Start your day off right by finding 5 things to be grateful for”. This may sound crazy, but I didn’t know HOW to be grateful intentionally. Don’t get me wrong, – I was raised to say thank you and all that jazz. I was just under the impression that saying “I’m grateful for my car” was somehow supposed to make my day better, and my life would magically be amazing after that. What I’ve discovered is that rarely do people ever go into detail about HOW to actually express gratitude by FEELING it. You need to actually feel it.
Making it a habit
It wasn’t until I learned how to feel and process gratitude, that my life really started changing. Gratitude is a very high-vibrational force. God/the Universe picks up on it instantly. Its a form of energy. God is always working FOR you – what you’re expelling on an energetic level, he matches. Which is why you attract more of what you’re grateful for.
Taking time out of my day to express real gratitude has been such an amazing addition to my life. I appreciate things all day long – but I don’t always have time to really sit in it. My favorite new habit I’ve formed is having a “Gratitude Bomb Minute” (that turns into 5 minutes, usually). Thus via inspired nudges from the Universe, I’ve made a video of myself demonstrating, just for you guys! For every little thing I say, I visualize how my life would be without it. That’s how I’m truly grateful for even the “basics”. The things that, until I started doing these “Gratitude Bombs” I always took for granted. I got this idea from a podcast episode by Kathrin Zenkina. Ya know what? I’m forever grateful for her too, just for sharing it.
