“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
- Abraham Lincoln
If you’re ever feeling sad, depressed, or dissatisfied, gratitude is the salve that soothes all ills. It’s Tiger Balm for your state of Inner Peace.
In every case, gratitude is a true, loving response. It’s a starting point for anything to follow.
If you’re grieving a death, gratitude reminds you of your great fortune that you knew a person and had the chance to get close to them.
If you’re depressed about a lover who is gone, gratitude reminds you of the love you felt. There’s no reason you cannot continue exuding that love.
If you’re upset about a sudden illness, gratitude reminds you how fortunate you’ve been prior to this time, and how many other things you still have that enrich your life.
When you wake up, start by being thankful for the day ahead of you. When you go to bed, end by being thankful for the day completed.
Make a gratitude list anytime your energy or optimism is waning. It’s easy and infinitely long so you’ll run out of time, before you run out of things to be thankful for! Parts of your home: your bed, your roof, your blanket. Body parts and bodily functions: your feet, your eyesight, your eyebrows, your digestive system. Food and the people who worked to bring it to you. Your family, your friends, the people who work at hospitals, post offices, schools.
The list can never be completed. When you begin looking for things you are thankful for, you will notice more and more.
Dissatisfaction is easy. It’s a natural state you’ll find yourself in if you do nothing to prevent it. Gratitude is the ointment that soothes the irritation.
Where you once had an itchy, red spot that was driving you crazy, applying gratitude will not only make the itch go away, but you’ll feel the healing of a mini-massage to your soul.
Gratitude is the simplest form of first aid for your Inner Peace. Apply liberally and frequently to treat minor irritations!
Set a memo on your phone wake-up alarm:“Glad to be alive!”
Exercises
- On waking, make a list of ten things you are grateful for. Try this daily, and try not to repeat.
- On lying down in bed, make a list of ten things you are grateful for. Again, do this daily and try not to repeat.
- Whenever you start to feel ‘off’, try listing ten things you are grateful for. It’s so incredibly easy. You don’t have to write it down, and takes less than a minute.
- Write a note with “I’m thankful for…” and put it on your bathroom mirror.
Filed under: Chapter Excerpt, Inner Peace Book Tagged: gratitude, inner peace, irritation, thankful, tiger balm
