The Simple Act of Gratitude Goes a Long Way!

Shuddhaanandaa Brahmachari

Research shows that gratitude makes us happier and healthier. If we see the world from a negative standpoint, we will get a world that is more mean and frustrating. But if we can find any authentic way to give gratitude for all the blessings in our life or in the world and put our attention there, an overwhelming body of research indicates we are going to experience more joy, vitality, and inner peace.Gratitude doesn’t just make things feelbetter – it also makes them getbetter. According to recent research, gratitude is good for our physical, emotional, and mental health. People who express more gratitude have fewer aches and pains, better sleep, and stronger mental clarity. It is therefore more important than ever that we begin a daily practice of gratitude!

Take a diary or a notebook and start today to write a Gratitude Journal. First think in retrospect from early childhood three things that made you happy, that were great moments of achievement and success, a moment of celebration and pen them down. Please don't miss this worship as your first act of counting your blessings and expressing your gratefulness, your thankfulness. Let the day begin like singing birds sing to the universe. Sing to your Divine Mother all about Her Grace and love for you. As you do this everyday search all those memories that have to do with your new learning and thank them who brought light and joy to your life. Enjoy this and I assure you this will take you to new heights of excellence and happiness in life.

When we write a daily journal of the blessings we received in life, and if we can do it regularly till it becomes a habit, we are on the way to being more mindful than most people on earth who do their daily chores in a robotical mode and end up with regrets and remorse. Most people miss the realization of a simple law of nature that if we keep acknowledging Mother Nature’s gifts and blessings and speak about it then our brain will send messages of happiness to all the cells of our body and we will be healthy and happy and a deep state of meditation will manifest naturally in us.

We need to make sure we maintain this journal of our evolution of consciousness from the caterpillar state to the butterfly state! We are here to fly, to soar, and to have what we need but receive it effortlessly as the life energy flows through us and manifests its infinite dance of creativity. Through gratitude and meditative practices we clean our conduit and enjoy being Awake. That is enlightenment.

Every morning brings to us this message that the whole universe loves us so much. We are alive while many who wished to be in this beautiful planet had to leave their loved ones. Celebrate this feeling of gratitude for all the elements of Mother Nature and take deep breaths of pure healing and

rejuvenation. We say to our self, "I am a blessing, I love everyone and everyone loves me, this day I will touch everyone with the magic wand of my love and peace of heart. I will manifest the divine in every act of mine." All is well.

If we can have the passion to continuously ask our self "What can I give?" we will invite all happiness in the world. Giving creates space, expands our heart, rejuvenates our cells; we experience celebration at a subtle level of mind. If we can truly live through the day with the awareness that it takes so little to give appreciation, smiles and gratitude then giving will be natural. It is the awareness. It is to set the mind right. It is to consciously practice gratitude. The rest is pure divine grace. Give and thou shall receive! That is the promise of God to us.