“To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.” -Johannes A. Gaertner
What does it mean to move from speaking gratitude to
enacting gratitude to living gratitude? When we speak gratitude, we are engaged
in the act of expressing our thanks or thankfulness to another. Speaking
gratitude is the simplest and most common form of everyday gratitude.
When you expressed thanks to your Barista this morning
for your grande, extra shot, non-fat, no whip, extra caramel, caramel brûlée latte, you were speaking gratitude. When I
ordered my simple grande Christmas blend, and said thank you as it was handed
to me through the window, I did the same.
Enacting gratitude is where we consciously decide to
do something that involves some form of gratitude action. A great example most
everyone understands and can relate to is the simple act of giving a gift. The
gift can be something as small as a thank you card, a more robust message in a
card or letter, buying a meal or a cup of coffee for a friend or stranger, or
an even bigger gift for a birthday or special occasion.
When
we begin to live gratitude, it shifts from being something we do sometimes or
on a special occasion, to becoming a way of life. We gradually learn to live
from gratitude, from the space of gratitude, and for gratitude. Gratitude as a
way of life is a reframing of both our outlook and our perception. We move from
taking life for granted to an inner awareness that suddenly expresses itself in
everything we see, everything we do, and everything we are.
Gratitude can even be viewed as a state of
consciousness. It involves opening your heart to the abundance of love and
splendor that surrounds us in our earthly world every day.
When I watched the sun rise above the horizon this
morning I was once again in awe of the splendor of the sun. This life-giving
orb is taken for granted by countless thousands of individuals every day and
for many years I was one of those individuals. I never really gave the sun much
thought. Once I did, my perception changed and that’s the power of gratitude.
Sunsets are an easier grasp for most people because
almost everyone has at one time or another experienced a cinematic sunset ablaze
with the hues of burnt orange or crimson red against the backdrop of wispy
cotton balls splashed across the sky.
The saying or phrase of “stop and smell the
roses” suddenly derives new meaning when we realize the world is full of
fragrance, and roses are just one simple yet beautiful element that
demonstrates this fact.
When we live gratitude, we discover people have a
fragrance as well…
It is the essence of their being, how they make us
feel when we’re around them, what they have us thinking about and considering,
the ideas and inspiration they openly share with those who are willing to
listen can be life-changing!
My friend Chris Palmore from www.GratitudeSpace.com is one of those people. He is just one of many. His most recent book, Dear Gratitude is full of stories reflecting the lives and experiences of people who have embraced gratitude as a way of life.
His
next endeavor is a bold one!
Dear 2020, his second Anthology, will give people an
opportunity to reflect on this most challenging year to see if they can find
the silver lining in what we are all painfully aware has been an incredibly difficult
time in our history.
His hope is that gratitude can serve as a powerful
elixir to ease some of that suffering by engaging in the cathartic practice of writing
about the 2020 experience.
Chris knows all too well the pain of loss and grief
and understands the difficulty of this experience. He also knows from his own
experience just how much gratitude helped him process his own grief, pain,
loss, and adversity. His only wish as a dedicated gratitude conductor is to
create a safe space for potential healing with the life-altering power of
gratitude.
The link below will give you an opportunity to express
yourself in a way that just might be the beginning of a life-changing process
for those not regularly accustomed to focusing on gratitude. Submissions are
being accepted thru January 10th, but my suggestion is to submit
your story or essay while you are inspired because if you say you’ll do it Someday,
it will most likely never happen…
One of the most talked about and probably
misunderstood ways of embracing gratitude as a way of life is some form of a
gratitude practice. Having a gratitude practice is a great way to develop a
gratitude lifestyle, but it’s also easy to get caught up in the practice and to
begin to see it as more of a check the box kind of activity rather than a true
lifestyle change.
Exercise is an activity that often gets a check the
box approach rather than embracing movement and resistance training as a part
of daily lifestyle. It’s a mindset shift. It’s the difference between asking
did I get my 30 minutes in and checking the box if the answer is yes to, did I find
a way to incorporate movement and activity into my life today?
I hope you can see the difference.
If you’re interested in embracing gratitude as a way
of life, there are several practical methods you can use to begin the
process. We can ask ourselves empowering questions and we can create
activities that raise our level of gratitude awareness.
Here are a handful of easy to implement suggestions.
Begin each day thinking of what we both are and can be grateful for!
List at least 3 things we are grateful for!
Imagine your life without some of the things we take for granted…
Use a gratitude journal to capture all that we are grateful for…
Use who, what, where and why to ask empowering questions of gratitude.
Examples:
Who inspired me today? Who provides small kind
opportunities for interactions that lift my spirits or brighten my mood? What
made me smile today? What touched me today? Where can I make a difference
today? When did I feel gratitude today?
As a bonus, and to go a little deeper, you can also ask
“how” questions.
Examples:
How can I experience more gratitude in my life? How
can I be thankful for the struggles and challenges I’m currently facing? How
fortunate am I?
There are hundreds of others… You get the idea, be
creative, let’s commit today to living lives of GRATITUDE!
Here’s an additional resource to help with your
gratitude questions as part of your daily gratitude practice. And remember, it’s
a practice. Gratitude isn’t done with perfection; it’s about making a conscious
commitment to think about ways of being grateful, expressing, and living
gratitude.
“You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end, each of us must work for our own improvement and, at the same time, share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful.” -Madame Marie Curie
What I really appreciate about this quote is its inclusivity. Every day, we have an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. The difference we have an opportunity to make is a unique one. Not only is it unique to our own individual capabilities and strengths, it is also unique to those we either aid or serve. For if it were not for our efforts and our intentions to actually make a difference, our individual difference, the one that only we can make, then it might be lost forever…
Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person and the only woman to win the Nobel Prize twice.
She paid the ultimate price for her commitment to humanity and the development of early radioactive treatments for cancer and the creation of radiography units that provided early X-ray services to field hospitals during World War I.
She was instrumental in the development of technology to improve the lives of others. It was her focus on the improvement of her own life that allowed her to serve others.
And what about improving ourselves? How do we insure we are improving ourselves? It’s quite simple really, we set intentions. When we set an intention, we are setting in motion the magic of the universe and the magic of our minds. Our intentions become our ideas that we plan (or intend) to carry out. When we mean something, really mean it, then it becomes an intention. It becomes something we mean to do whether we are initially successful or not. It is the setting of an expectation for a specific result.
What it really represents more than anything else is “COMMITMENT.” Our intentions become our commitment to carrying out our actions… Our actions are the catalyst to the completion of our goals, desires, or stated intent. We can always make the most progress by getting involved in an activity or project we are most passionate about. When we choose to make a stand, we are simply saying this is what I believe, this is what I stand for, nothing can deter me!
This idea is stated with not just our words, but more importantly, our actions.
What we DO, speaks so loudly that no one questions any longer what we stand for. We become known not for our words, but our actions. A great question to ask of ourselves is, what do I stand for? A better question to ask is what do WE stand for?
When we honor our particular duty by providing aid to those we think we can be most useful to, then and only then are we answering our highest calling… What do you STAND FOR? What difference will you make today? What difference can we make, together? What difference are you “COMMITTED” to making in the world, not SOMEDAY, but today?
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” -Harriet Tubman
How is it that every great dream
begins with a dreamer? The reason the process unfolds in this manner is simple.
We all dream. However, we do not all dream equally. Some dream of what might
be, while others dream and make plans for what will be.
What is the difference between might
and will?
The difference between might and will, is the difference between believing and not believing. What makes dreamers so remarkably different, is their ability to entertain the possibility that they might just somehow find a way, to bring their dream into reality if, if they but remain open to the possibility of the dream…
When we are gently reminded by
someone, by the words of a song or a story, the line of a poem, or the words of
an actor or actress, the encouragement of a friend, the inspiring words of a
leader, what we are reminded of in that moment, is not the power of what is
expressed, but the recognition that what is expressed, is what is within.
We already have within us,
everything we could ever possibly need, to do, be, or become, whatever we
desire. It is only when we acknowledge what is in us, that we begin to nurture
ourselves and give ourselves permission to grow, develop, and unfold, so that
we might then become, all that we once dreamed possible…
When we acknowledge and accept our
dreams as a preview of our own life’s coming attractions, it is in the moment
of acknowledgement, the dream becomes a potential reality. We literally can
begin to see ourselves as becoming the thing we only previously dreamed about.
What is it that makes something
real anyway? Is it the something, or our belief about it that makes it
real? Are our lives not full of limiting beliefs and false assumptions? Are new
technologies and new information not changing the very landscape of everything
we thought we once knew and understood? And where does all of this new
information and these new ideas come from anyway?
The information and ideas come from
those who would dare to dream with their eyes wide open and act upon their
dreams with purpose and intention. From those who would dare to believe as
Harriet Tubman did, that within us, lies all of the passion, all of the
patience, and all of the strength and courage we will ever need to do the
things we previously only ever dreamed of.
The dream can be as big or as small as we choose. Maybe your dream is to be the best teacher you can be, maybe it’s to be the best parent. Maybe it’s to the best representative in the company, maybe it’s to be a distinguished leader, maybe it’s as simple as becoming the very best YOU possible…
Whatever it is, acknowledge it… Whatever it is, embrace it. And whatever you do, do not go back to sleep!!
My call to action is a simple one. What is it you previously dreamed about as a possibility that you simply let go back to sleep, within you? Whatever it is, it’s still there. Let it awaken slowly within you as you reflect on the words of a great 13th Century poet…
“The morning breeze has secrets to tell you, do not go back to sleep.” -Rumi
“COMMITMENT is the only thing that gets you through the chasm. Commitment takes you from “that’s a fine idea” to “it’s done.” Commitment is risky, because if you fail, it’s on you. On the other hand, without commitment, you will fail, because art unshipped isn’t art.” -Seth Godin
This quote can be found in Seth
Godin’s little purple book, V is for Vulnerable. I believe commitment is the
bridge that helps us get from where we are, to where we want to be. So, the
real question is, just how do we go from “that’s a fine idea” to
“it’s done?”
Terrified!
The feeling I was experiencing
just before hitting the publish button on Amazon can best be described as
terrified. It could also be described as exhilarating.
When I finally published THE
SOMEDAY SOLUTION, How to Go from Unsure to UNSTOPPABLE “One Day At A Time” I experienced
terror and exhilaration in almost the exact same moment.
Does this sound familiar? Think of
your last rollercoaster ride at your favorite Amusement Park.
Why would we intentionally expose
ourselves to the terror that IS the rollercoaster ride? Why ride it?
Why would we expose ourselves to
the fear of rejection? Why risk it?
Life is risky!
It’s so risky, none of us are
getting out alive…
So then, what are we REALLY afraid
of?
This is the real question we must each
answer. The answer will be different for each of us but at the core, at the
root of the question, will be some form of fear or I’m not good enough and this
is normal.
What’s not normal and must be
learned is to act anyway. This is “The Dance.”
In my opinion, fear is not something
to be overcome. It is to be embraced like a dance partner.
When we place our hand in the
small of the back of fear (or your dance partner), we will discover we can take
control of it/them the same way the lead, unbeknownst to the uninformed,
flawlessly steers the direction of the dance with a little pressure, so their
partner knows what to expect next.
Learning to dance with fear is
learning to trust that it will respond to our gentle commands if we commit to
standing our ground.
Commit to start first. Then,
commit to finish!
Everything begins first in
thought, then in action. All action is preceded by thought. Before we ever move
forward on any thought or idea, we must first choose to begin. Once we choose
to begin, and only once we choose to begin, do we move forward.
The way we choose to begin is to
make a commitment to start. We don’t have to know exactly how we are going to
get from where we are to where we want to be, as a matter of fact, what stops
many people from becoming all they are capable of, is the belief that they must
somehow already know how they are going to get from A to B.
The majority of the time, the
initial process or plan we used to determine where we want to go will have
changed or the market will change and it is only in our ability to adapt to the
change that we will develop the new path forward.
It’s impossible to connect the
dots until we begin the process and we usually can’t even see what the process
was, until after we have already arrived at whatever destination success has
delivered.
Needing to know all the details of
the how will have us missing emerging opportunities as they appear. We must be
open to the process and trust in our ability to shift or pivot as necessary to
overcome the inevitable obstacles that are sure to appear on the path.
Staying committed to our desired
outcome is important. We begin with the end in mind. We simply COMMIT, then
figure it out as WE move forward!
Create art, our work is our art,
our art is our work…
True Success is a Blend of Qualities and Character
ADVANCE CONFIDENTLY!
“Success is ninety-nine
percent mental attitude. It calls for love, joy, optimism, confidence,
serenity, poise, faith, courage, cheerfulness, imagination, initiative,
tolerance, honesty, humility, patience and enthusiasm.”
-Wilferd
A. Peterson
I
discovered this quote while searching for a message about TOLERANCE.
The incessantly loud knock that
interrupted the writing of this article originally had no place here but
magically appeared to remind me of what I am now sharing.
We often write about, speak about,
think about, and yes, even resist the lessons we most need to learn and
understand.
Yes, almost everything I write
about comes from my own willingness to examine the experiences of my life to
see how they might benefit someone else.
Perhaps in the sharing of my own
struggles, someone will see that whatever they are experiencing is normal and
not a defect of character, but a lesson in disguise.
Where was I? Oh yes, this article
and the quote I was searching for…
There are a limited number of
quotes as it relates to tolerance by itself… On the other hand, there are
almost an unlimited number of quotes on success. This quote speaks to the
qualities of success, or as stated here, the attitude of success.
This observation brings me to the
word success as an outcome versus success as a way of life.
I would submit the word success
has over time somehow become misconstrued to mean something it was never meant
to represent.
Success is not what we do or what
we achieve; success is who we are, it’s who we become. It is merely a byproduct
of how we live.
When we embrace and engage in
purposeful thinking, we get to decide how we show up. We stop being at the
mercy of things and circumstances.
The one thing we each have the capacity
to control is our thinking. Our thinking generally controls our actions, but
only when we are fully present and fully engaged in the process.
Let’s examine patience as an
example, because it’s one of the virtues most everyone can relate to. If we are
struggling with patience, we simply need to first acknowledge the struggle as
an opportunity to be more patient and then simply think about what actions will
change our level of patience…
This is where the concept becomes really interesting; tolerance improves patience, honesty improves patience, cheerfulness improves patience.
See the connection?
Yes, everything affects everything
else and that’s why SUCCESS is who we are, not what we do or achieve.
