Gratitude, another key to happiness and well-being. We all know this innately, but sometimes it’s like forgetting to put our napkin in our lap or turning off the light before we exit a room.
Gratitude is more than an intellectual exercise of just giving thanks or uttering the platitude, “I feel blessed today”. Not of course that those things aren’t true, but it is the ability to really feel this emotion. When we drop into our heart we activate a consciousness and create a new reality ; this is where the magic happens!
I remember saying grace every evening at the dinner table growing up. It was the prerequisite to beginning the family meal, and looking back, it felt more like sitting at a red light, waiting for the signal to turn green–and permission to GO. This morning, when I look around at all the hardship and daily struggle, my gratitude extends to many things in my life; I note my beautiful home, my purposeful career, my friends–and family. My boys are good, my health excellent–and my parents still alive in their 80’s. And, although I am no longer 30, I have more life lessons under my belt. I have more experience, wisdom and insight that melds with who I have become today. I look forward to whatever the future brings.
So, gratitude for me is about really feeling it in my heart. It’s yours to own as well when we are able to get out of our head. The heart, is 5000 times more powerful than our left-brain intellect. The hearts mystery contains the powerful feminine-side of our emotions, feelings and love. It is the seed which is able to move mountains–that tiny seed when nurtured is able to grow through the toughest conditions. It all begins with intention. Do we show love and have gratitude for our earth, the plants and animals–our forests and oceans and all the abundance contained therein?
I send the challenge out to you too: gratitude for 60 seconds today? And, if you are having a really “bad”day, can you think of just one thing–and then notice how you feel? What about one more? Better huh. On a good day these things are easy– but the power comes when we are challenged. So, what do you have gratitude for, and what does it feel like when we choose from our heart? After all, recent studies indicate, about 40 percent of our own happiness is entirely within our control. What if it was even higher than that? 100 percent? Who knows?
A massage for our soul, certainly our mind, and also the place the seeds to health, and wellness are nurtured and grow. And, by the way, gratitude and happiness include at wide range of health benefits for us including, less incidence of strokes. We have better immunity against colds and flu. We have less pain, lower cortisol levels, less stress and inflammation in our body. Like a beautiful garden, see what shows up in your life when the seeds of gratitude are planted! Better than any supplement. Happy is healthy. Have you had your energetic and transforming Vitamin G today?
Cathy Silver, Certified Holistic Health Coach and Wellness Warrior
Filed under: 2013, Alternative Medicine, Celebrations, Energies of Healing, Energy Healing, Healthy Living, Heart Energy, Living our truth, Primary Food, Self-help, Stress relief, Uncategorized, Well-being | Tagged: colds and flu, cortisol levels, Gratitude, Happiness, happiness within, Health and Happiness, Health and Wellness, heart, heart energy, holistic health, immune functions, inflammation, stress relief |
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