Gratitude

.....Ever had one of “those” days? With the emails, telephone calls, and text messages which seem to communicate only complications to an already hectic day, out of nowhere, I suddenly remembered a focused point of energy from early this morning: my gratitude writing for today. My gratitude topic for today was for my car. Yes, I am grateful for my four-wheeled, fossil-fuel-burning machine, invented over a century ago, though mine was manufactured in a considerably more recent year. I am also grateful for things a bit more emotionally sensitive and romantic but on this particular day it was my car. Please allow me to explain.
..... When I see my car in the morning it's like I'm meeting an old friend for breakfast. Stains from the occasional spilled coffee or the discovery of a dried French fried potato round under the seat provide evidence that we have had breakfast together on numerous occasions. Of course, like an old friend who has a few miles on them, it has a quirk or two. It makes odd noises, it pulls to the right, and it hiccups once in a while. Of course, after a long night in Buckhead I do, too. But I truly enjoy my dependable red car. It's not pretentious but it does have a sexy kind of attitude. Above all, I'm sincerely grateful for my car's CD player. Be it an airy mystical number, Haydn's Seasons, a house beat, or just some raw Delta blues, I've always been serenaded ever so sweetly while in the confines of my mobile concert hall.
..... The phrase “gratitude is the best attitude” was spoken ages ago. How very true it remains. I try to always make it a point to give thanks for something every day. I do this because I know that my ability to help others and the quality of my contribution to society depends upon my awareness of gratitude. I give thanks for the gifts with which I've been entrusted. I give thanks for the abundant lifestyle I enjoy while so many others go without. I give thanks for the people whom I love and hold dear. I even give thanks for the challenges I encounter because they teach me so much and help my spirit to grow.
..... William Arthur Ward said, “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” Isn't that an awesome and powerful image? I always try to express my gratitude: I try to always thank my friends who tolerate my eccentricities and my verbosity. I thank the cashier at the supermarket for being there to help me with my purchase on that temperamental self-checkout machine. I thank those with whom I work for helping me find my center when I get discouraged. I thank the ones who teach me time and time again that every day is a precious gift. I thank my family for loving me in spite of the fact that sometimes I may not be so lovable. I try to remember to thank myself for just being me.
..... Gratitude is a foundational concept of most religious practices. The absence of gratitude has been proven to cause serious health problems, mental stress and social dysfunctions. We can all train ourselves to have more gratitude energy in our lives. Psychological studies have shown that those who keep a record, in a systematic way, of things for which they are grateful enjoy a heightened sense of well-being.  
..... Here's a daily exercise you could do to improve your personal experience of gratitude: Get a pack of 3x5 index cards made from recycled paper and a box of your liking. The box may be as ornate as you wish or as simple as an old, dusty, tattered shoebox. This box will store your gratitude cards. Each day, during the time you set aside for your meditation or for the spiritual practice in which you participate, take a minute or two and on one side of one card write out something for which you are grateful. Put that card in the box and give it back to the universe. When you've used up all of your new cards, go back and write another item of thanks on the back of each card. When you're doing this, be sure to read again the side first written. Continue this simple acknowledgement of gratitude until you're ready for another pack of cards and then start all over. If your experience is like mine, this practice will increase the energy of your gratitude and bless you immensely.



Don Lovell is an award-winning Realtor® in NE Georgia . He is a humanitarian, speaker, freelance writer and student at Tessitura, located in Oakhurst Village , Decatur , under the mentoring eye of Lynnette Winiarski. You may contact Don directly at pozzdonn@alltel.net