Gratitude

Gratitude is appreciating the good that is present in our lives. Gratitude is the door to joy bringing peace and assurance to everyday life.

While good is always available, sometimes it is difficult to accept because we don’t know what it is.

We often think that what is good is just getting what we want. This is the Personal View, while the Spiritual View is based on recognizing the good of spiritual qualities.

With the Spiritual View when we ask the question: “Do I have everything I need right now? the answer is always “yes.”

In the Personal View we ask the question: “Do I have what I want?” and the answer might be “sometimes.” Seeing the simplicity of our answers to these two questions might free us from the Personal View of not having what we want, to seeing that we actually have everything we need. Being grateful is a choice we make moment to moment. We often appreciate a sunset or stop to notice a flower and we are grateful for beauty in the world. This is the Spiritual View whether we know it or not.

When we receive bad news regarding our jobs, friends or health, it may be difficult to be grateful at that moment. At first we react with the Personal View to the fact that something we do not want is happening. Yet, as we come to see the situation with the Spiritual View we may see that harmony, intelligence and order is still unfolding in ways we did not expect.

We are comforted as the expression of the good of spiritual qualities unfolds in our lives.