Gratitude is a two-way flow of appreciation between your thanks and the uplifting response that you feel in return. The flow of gratitude from the heart is received by nature in the same spirit it is given, and it is returned back to us as grace.
- Deepak Chopra
Be happy for no reason, like a child. If you are happy for a reason, you're in trouble, because that reason can be taken from you.
― Deepak Chopra
The instinct of most conditioned human beings is to decide what to be grateful for—to look at everything and think: Is this something I should be grateful for?
Gratitude has to be woken up because it's buried underneath conditioning. As children we possess gratitude naturally, but as we grow up it becomes buried under a lot of layers of defensiveness.
So, we need to be returned to—and reacquainted with—the innocence of gratitude.
- Matt Kahn
Dear Wise Women,
So often when I write to you, I begin with an expression of gratitude….thanking you for your presence, your wisdom and the gift of our sacred circles.
Last week, as I was writing to you, my gratitude literally transported me into a physical experience of being in a sanctuary - a space of total acceptance, love and safety. The sensation was so overwhelming that I decided to devote the the entire treasure trove to one word, “sanctuary”.
And what a gift that was.
The words we shared were insightful and rich, but it was the energy of our connection that was truly divine. And in the space of our shared divinity, we learned that true sanctuary is so much more than a place to go to. The sanctuary, we remembered, is within…and it is only a breath away.
And so, throughout the week, I focused on entering my inner sanctuary. Simultaneously, I naturally found myself giving more gratitude to the outer sanctuary of my home, my community, my country, my earth. And, in the merging of the inner and outer, I noticed something quite profound.
I noticed that I place certain conditions on when I am worthy enough to enter the inner sanctuary and when I am not. I also noticed that I place an equally amount of restrictive conditions on when my outer sanctuary deserves gratitude and when it does not.
And this got me thinking about physical sanctuaries such as refugee camps and shelters. The underlying principle of such asylums is to welcome anyone who is seeking refuge and to do so with unconditional acceptance and the assumption of innocence. But, I wondered, how often are the givers and the recipients of this kindness able to do so in a truly unconditional manner? How often are these inherently innocent and beautiful human exchanges mired with feelings of guilt, indebtedness, judgement and resentment? Similarly, how often is the entrance to our inner sanctuary blocked by expectation and lack?
Could it be that we have lost the innocence of true gratitude?
Let’s explore together.
xo
Patti
Gratitude is the recognition of value, and the more often we recognize value in our lives, the more often we realize that we are all one. Because our inner and outer realities are interconnected, if I see value outside of me, then that can only increase the value within me.
However I may see myself, there is a light within me that can heal and transform lives if I allow myself to be worthy enough to first receive it and then give it to others.
Gratitude is how we develop the worthiness to both receive the light of the universe (love) and be able to give ourselves the type of nurturing attention, emotional sustenance, and personal support that perhaps other people aren't meant to give us.
Gratitude is the building block of self-love, and the worthiness that we awaken within us allows us to become the light of love.
- Matt Kahn
Gratitude starts with being thankful for all the goodness we have.
But the advanced level of gratitude is learning to change our relationship to the bad things and becoming grateful for them.
This is something I've taught myself over many years. If something that I perceive to be negative happens, no matter what I think about it, whether it was planned or spontaneous, expected or unexpected, fulfilling or frustrating, the first thing I say is thank you.
It is my way of appreciating in advance how this change or loss or unexpected gain is going to make me even better on my mission, shine brighter as a soul, and be even wiser and more of service to my family and the entire world. Thank you in advance for this gift, I think, and if I can assume it is a gift, then only gifts will come of it.
When we don't assume that everything is a gift, then we land—by default—in an unconscious state where life is happening to us instead of for us.
Whenever I see something difficult, I immediately go into:
Let me be the blessings of energetic resolve that brings positive change to what I'm seeing.
- Matt Kahn
“True Harbour” by Autumn Skye Morrison
I leave you with a few very powerful quotes/mantras…
Wear gratitude like a cloak and it will feed every corner of your life.
- Rumi
Upon waking,
let your first thought be,
Thank-you.
- Abraham Hicks
Happiness equals reality minus expectations.
- Tom Magliozzi