January 25th, 2011 | Author: Susan Stackpole
“Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.”
~ Henry Ward Beecher ~
Thank You for Amazing, Gorgeous, Marvelous, Radiant, Talented, Wonderful You.
Thank You so much for your beautifully affirming and encouraging comments. I am grateful for You!
You are the change for good in the world. Keep shining your exquisite light! You are cherished. You are safe. You are BeLoved. ღ
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November 13th, 2010 | Author: Susan Stackpole
“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today,
and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
~ Anonymous ~
♥ ~ ♫ ~ ♥ ~ ♫ ~ ♥
Thank You. Merci (French). Efharisto (Greek). Mahalo (Hawaiian). Grazie (Italian).
The Princeton Dictionary defines gratitude as “a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation”, and Wikipedia describes it as “a positive emotion or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive”. Gratitude is mutually beneficial for the giver and receiver, a win-win situation. “Thank You” feels good whether you hear it or say it, especially if you are blessing someone’s life. Recent attention has been brought to the importance of gratitude in manifesting one’s desires. Law of attraction suggests advanced praise activates attracting one’s desires. Spirituality also confirms the importance of remaining grateful in every situation as a way of activating and receiving blessings.
“Gratitude helps you to grow and expand;
gratitude brings joy and laughter into your life
and into the lives of all those around you.”
~ Eileen Caddy ~
Why is gratitude important?
Neale Donald Walsch, author of “Conversations with God”, suggests our souls choose certain situations ripe with valuable lessons to gain greater wisdom. He reveals that accessing this knowledge shifts one’s perspective to automatically engage gratitude. Gregg Braden, author of “The Divine Matrix”, suggests gratitude is fundamental to our survival as we approach 21 December 2012, the dawning of a new world age. He reveals the future of the world is currently being shaped by what people choose to believe, and the future is literally being created by the thoughts people think. Gregg states this new world age accounts for many people who have been affected by the random passing of loved ones and other curious events in recent years. He shares that we are being offered massive growth opportunities to step into higher consciousness and experience a greater sense of gratitude than ever before.
How can gratitude work for me?
2010 has been a crazy year for many people, including me. I found myself searching for a deeper understanding of God and universe in an attempt to make sense of the year’s weird happenings. I explored religious philosophies and scientific theories, which only led to more questions. My life began to seem like an alternate reality, and one day I simply prayed to know The Truth. It seemed like it was one thing after another, and I was at my wit’s end. I was attempting to make a note of something with a brand new ink pen that simply wasn’t cooperating. Have you ever had one of those weeks where it seems everything is going the opposite way in which you’d like? Well, I was there, and this just was just too much. I asked aloud, “What do you want from me? How do I get things to work out for me?”
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
~ Matthew 7:7-8 ~
Ask, and You shall receive.
God (or Jehovah as I call Him), or however you choose to address Him, spoke to me as clearly as if you and I were having a conversation. He said, “Stop asking me for things, and start trusting Me. Surrender your heart to Me. You are my child, and I know your heart. I love you and am working all things out for your good even if it doesn’t make sense now. Pray with praise as if you have your heart’s desires. Say ‘Thank You’ instead of ‘Please’, and remember to praise on others’ behalf, too.” The Voice disappeared as quickly as it appeared, and I sat in humbled in silence.
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all.
The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
~ Philippians 4:4-6 ~
Did I imagine The Voice? Could something this simple really work? The ink pen had embossed lovely scrolls on the paper where I had been scribbling without success. I took a breath and said, in my head, “Thank You for this pen writing.” The pen magically began writing within seconds. I was certain it must merely be coincidence. I began testing the gratitude principle on other things, including a challenging situation beyond my control, and even that began to transform almost instantly. I was quite pleasantly surprised by the immediately positive results …all from saying, “Thank You” in advance. I was, in a word …astonished.
Why is gratitude so effective?
“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘Thank You,’ that would suffice.”
~ Meister Eckhart ~
Doors open. Light bursts through windows. Possibility blossoms. Blessings bloom. Miracles manifest.
Gratitude is the ultimate confirmation of faith because it is so certain of receiving that it praises in advance. Someone once explained it to me this way – we know gravity is a law; therefore, we go through the day trusting it is active without questioning it. True faith is the same principle. We walk in belief knowing that we will see what we believe versus waiting to believe until we see.
Gratitude is our Love Song to The Creator.
Ancient people chiseled on stone tablets. Ancestral laborers pounded out papyrus. Today, paper’s mass production has become almost synonymous with it being taken for granted. Paper is now a glaring snowy rectangle on a square electronic screen waiting emotionless as the beckoning cursor flashing, imploring someone to write something meaningful.
Possibility is woven into the fiber of every moment. It is found in every action, breath, feeling, heartbeat, sound, and thought. Possibility is choice, freedom, hope, the belief in miracles, and sometimes the only thing that keeps some people going. Possibility is the expanding belief in what can actually happen. Possibility is that instant when life changes in a flash in such as astonishing way that it fully engages all the senses and calls one to action.
“Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Congratulations, it’s a boy!”
“Ms. Watson, You’ve been promoted to a new position in Paris.”
“Mr. James, Your book is being published.”
Possibility is about that bit of magic, that spark which ignites passion and brings new creation into existence. Possibility is walking in faith, knowing that every situation has the potential to be a miracle. A dash of faith, a smidgen of trust, sprinkled with a generous helping of belief, and, voila, dreams become reality.
Possibility has the heart of a child, the cleverness of a crafty schoolboy, and the savvy of royalty. Possibility is activated by honoring the quiet voice inside. It sometimes is being deliciously self-indulgent, which, in turn, can and does change the world by inspiring others to honor the dreams in their heart.
“Eat, Pray, Love” is the story of possibility. It’s the story about a woman discovering herself and the secrets of happiness, serenity, and love, of course. Some may say her journey was incredibly selfish, yet that journey led to a best-selling book that inspired thousands of people and has become movie starring Julie Roberts, which will go on to inspire thousands more to live their best lives. It has created for her more possibilities and the opportunity do more of what she adores …writing.
You posse something rare and beautiful and unique to you – your heart, wherein exists possibility and the guidance to find your way in this world. Each of has what I call a Heartstar™, a dream seed planted in our hearts before we were born. It holds the secret of who we are and why we’re here. It’s the origin of passion and keeper of dreams. People are passionate about all sorts of wonderful things – flying kites, racing cars, riding horses, making music, creating art, dancing, interior decorating, designing buildings, healing people, and the list goes on and on. Visionaries fuel possibility with passion and bring dreams to life.
Is it selfish to pursue your dreams? I used to think so, and now I feel quite strongly that the opposite is true. It’s selfish not to pursue your passion. It is self-absorbed to allow fear to prevent you from growing the dream seeds in your heart. How can I say this? Because it used to be me.
What if Rosa Parks didn’t get on the bus that day? What if Thomas Edison gave up? What if the Wright Brothers believed everyone who said they couldn’t fly? What if The Beatles quit after a few disappointing gigs early in their career? Why do visionaries succeed? Possibility. Bill Gates and Richard Branson, two of the wealthiest and most powerful men in the world, are motivated completely by their passion for transforming possibility into reality.
What does it meant to live in possibility? It means believing. It means honoring that desire to learn a language simply for the fun of it. It means honors the urge write a novel simply for the delight of it. It means doing things that manifest joy in your heart and peace in your spirit.
I used to think life had a specific set of rules, and I would be rewarded for following those rules. I’m not talking about spiritual guidelines. I’m talking about mirage of the corporate job with shining benefits and happy retirement. I’m talking about the vision of the house with the white picket fence, a tire swing, and 2.5 children playing in the yard. I’m talking about the things we tell ourselves we desire because they are supposed to bring us happiness.
Follow the rules, get a gold star. Disobey the rules, get a red check. For a long time, I followed these imaginary rules and life seemed difficult and filled with disappointment and suffering. I was miserable, and it didn’t make sense because I was doing what I thought I was supposed to be doing. To clarify, when I say,”miserable”, I don’t mean just a twinge of sadness here and there. I mean it got to where I was enveloped by an inky Armageddon cloud to the point I no longer saw value in breathing. My heart was literally dying for me to listen. And I did. And I’m glad I did because I began to understand what it means to truly live in possibility.
Julie & Julia touched the deepest recesses of my heart. It is a delightfully transformational tale of living in possibility and illustrates what it really means to fully live by savor every morsel of life. It echoes the resiliency of the human spirit, stripping away everything and finally becoming ourselves by stepping into possibility. It is about doing what we love for sheer pleasure; setting our own course for adventure and allowing it take us where it will. It is getting up every single time we fall and learning lessons. It is destiny pulling us. It’s awakening to who we are and have always been. Julie & Julia teach us that by stepping into possibility, by taking time to be self-involved, by honoring that still voice inside us, which sometimes screams to be heard, we are able to be more, give more, and live the life intended for us.
If you’re still with me, perhaps you’ll relate to what I’m about to share. I became a people pleaser early in life because I thought putting others first meant a complete disregard for self. I realized much later that each of us is responsible only for our own well-being, and if we all did that, we could give and receive much more fully and healthfully. Happiness is a choice not a condition.
It was accepted and expected during that time that I was the 24/7 emotional mini-mart. People would pull up, spiritually refuel and then disappear without a trace. I unknowingly participated because I thought that’s what it meant to put others first.
“You must first fill your cup before you can share anything with others” is something one of my most cherished gal pals says. I finally understood what that meant the day everything literally came to a halt. I’ll spare the details; however, suffice it to say that I gave until I was completely empty. My heart physically boycotted. The store closed. The shelves were empty. The windows and doors were boarded up. The parking lot was vacant. …and I felt completely on my own. The people I most thought would be there for me were the first to turn their backs, or worse, kick me when I was down. It was a huge wake-up call for me in terms of how I was living my life and nothing was working anymore.
The truth was, it hadn’t been working for a long time, and I was busy running away to avoid dealing with it. I’d been miserable for much longer than I would admit to anyone, and I was working diligently to help everyone else live their dreams because I was too scared and didn’t know how to live mine. I’m grateful because that experience transformed my life. It taught me about possibility and gave me a second chance to be the person I came to be in this life.
I believe Love has a voice and that it’s the voice inside our heart that knows who we really are and guides us to live our true purpose. Love is the voice that sometimes sounds crazy, which our brains attempt to rationalize. Love is the voice we sometimes pretend not to hear when it asks us to expand our comfort zone. Love is the voice that lets us know when we are “off the path”; even though we do everything we can to convince ourselves we’re “on the path”. Love is the voice that sings our heart songs, reminding us who we are in our core. Love is the voice that tells us why we are here. Love is the voice that reminds us we’re all the same. Love is the voice of Possibility.