Have you ever looked back on your life and noticed that your practice of gratitude (however it was developed at the time) actually transformed something in your life, or directly attracted more of that for which you were grateful?
Have you ever noticed there is more harmony in a certain area of your life, or an abundance of something you’ve always found it easy to be grateful for?
Take a moment today to look back and see if you can discover the miraculous power of gratitude at work in your life.
For example, this morning I was sitting in my covered patio looking out and appreciating my backyard. My yard literally backs up to a lush forest filled with birds, squirrels, deer, butterflies and other wildlife. I began to think about how much I appreciate…and have always appreciated…being surrounded by nature and having a lovely backyard. I remembered my first backyard when my fiance and I rented a house together for the first time.
As a single adult, I had always lived in an apartment. Even as a child we always lived in an apartment. So my first house with a backyard was a huge treat! We were living in one of those little 40’s bungalow-style houses in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles with a postage stamp backyard, but I absolutely adored every square inch of it. There were trees along the fence that gave us privacy. There was even an apricot tree that I enjoyed watching bloom and come to fruition. I would try to pick the fruit before the squirrels got to them (I think I managed to salvage about 1/3 of the apricots) and share it at the office. I even canned them one year in brandy and gave them as Christmas presents (the apricots, not the squirels ;-))
We also bought a hammock at one point and oh, how I loved lying in it and staring up at the sky, watching the clouds float past. The backyard also allowed us the opportunity of having our first dog. And boy, did she enjoy that backyard! She would run around and around in circles until she pooped out. I even grew tomatoes for the first time in my life. All the while, I was grateful for every aspect of having a backyard.
Universal law states that we attract to ourselves more of that for which we are grateful, right? Well, it was certainly proven in this case. Each successive house we lived in after that little one had a more expansive and verdant backyard. This is our third, and by far the most amazing. It simply just occurred that the houses that were available for sale, and in our price range, happened to have an amazing backyard. Coincidence? I don’t think so. It is, in fact, the natural outcome of the practice of proactive gratitude.
I have also noticed a common theme on our Gratitude Experiment community on Facebook . And that is, that many people are grateful for their friends. And it seems the more grateful they are for them the more and more amazing friends seem to come into their lives. This is true for every area of our lives where we find it easy to be grateful. And the areas we find difficult to be grateful for are usually the areas that are more challenging and limited. (I will address that aspect, and how to transform that experience in a future blog. Stay tuned.)
So now it’s your turn. Look at the area or areas of your life where you have historically found it easy to be grateful. Have you noticed this part of your life expanding, multiplying, or attracting more good?
Looking forward to reading about your experience!