Concept for Spirit: An Attitude of Gratitude

Thanksgiving Day is fast approaching here in the U.S. and many of us are preparing for the holiday across the country.

This year, as the holiday approaches it's been tough to navigate my emotions, it's really been an up and down kind of year. I am the kind of person who is deeply affected by emotions, so much so that having a broken heart is enough to send me to the hospital. It's not something I enjoy, but it is a fact about my personality. Facing this is mandatory as a mom, because not only do I need to be around for them physically, I have to be a role model on how to cope with life emotionally as well. My entire life has had its ups and downs, and I have found that taking on attitude of gratitude has helped me through the tough times tremendously.

During the winter holidays it's even more important to hold onto that attitude of gratitude, at a time when temperatures drop, and most of us begin to stay indoors and isolated from others more often.

For me, this is the first Thanksgiving without my mother. She passed away two days after Gina and I got married this past summer. One of the things my mom passed on to me was a love of cooking, and feeding her family with full flavored dishes. Facing reality, there are some recipes of hers I will NEVER be able to duplicate... some of her inside cooking secrets she really did take with her to the grave. Instead of taking this as a downer, I laugh! LOL I smile thinking about how my mom would experiment with her food, and would never write her recipes down. She always measured by her taste - and you know what that did? It forced me to develop my tastes! And now, I am looking forward to running around my kitchen this Thanksgiving, experimenting and trying to duplicate her stuffing and candied yams; with my children running around my feet, and the football game on the TV in the next room - much like she did. How grateful I am that I had a mother who showed me how to have a family, and how to fill their bellies with love.

It's easy to let things get you down, and it's hard to get out from under a depressed attitude.

Yet the answer to your grief is so simple! Just count your blessings, write a gratitude list, and find a way to be grateful for all experiences in your life. This doesn't discount what you are feeling if you are feeling a bit down. Simply put, gratitude highlights the things in your life that should inspire you towards happiness. It's very easy to focus on the things that we don't like in our life, but all that really does is bring more of the same into your life. Focus on gratitude, (it feels good to be grateful!)and you will bring more things to be grateful for into your life instead!

Here are some quotes about gratitude that I like to keep in mind:

Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy -- because we will always want to have something else or something more. ~ Brother David Steindl-Rast

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful. ~ Buddha

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude. ~ Denis Waitley

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others. ~ Cicero

The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving. ~ H. U. Westermayer

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


You can find more quotes at WisdomQuotes.com, about gratitude and more.

Here is a funny video that I found on YouTube.

Have you heard of 'The Happy Dance'?? Well this is 'The Gratitude Dance' and you are supposed to do it every day. ;o) Watch how it's done...



Some more words of wisdom on gratitude...

"Thank God--every morning when you get up--that you have something to do which must be done, whether you like it or not. Being forced to work, and forced to do your best, will breed in you a hundred virtues which the idle never know."
~ Charles Kingsley ~


"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."
~ Melody Beattie ~


"Blessed are those that can give without remembering and receive without forgetting."
~ Author Unknown ~


"He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has."
~ Epictetus ~


"The sun was shining in my eyes, and I could barely see
To do the necessary task that was allotted me.
Resentment of the vivid glow, I started to complain--
When all at once upon the air I heard the blindman's cane."
~ Earl Musselman ~

"You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you."
~ Sarah Ban Breathnach ~
Simple Abundance


"Gratitude is something of which none of us can give too much. For on the smiles, the thanks we give, our little gestures of appreciation, our neighbors build their philosophy of life."
~ A. J. Cronin ~

Those were from ColleensCorner.com where I also found this poem entitled "Be Thankful"...

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire,
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge
Because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary
Because it means you've made a difference.

It is easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are
also thankful for the setbacks.

GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles
and they can become your blessings.
~ Author Unknown ~

From Spirituality and Practice, here is some more information on HOW to be grateful and why you would want to be:

The Basic Practice
The spiritual practice of gratitude has been called a state of mind and a way of life. But we prefer to think of it as a grammar — an underlying structure that helps us construct and make sense out of our lives. The rules of this grammar cover all our activities. Its syntax reveals a system of relationships linking us to the divine and to every other part of the creation.

To learn the grammar of gratitude, practice saying "thank you" for happy and challenging experiences, for people, animals, things, art, memories, dreams. Count your blessings, and praise God*. Utter blessings, and express your appreciation to everything and everyone you encounter. By blessing, we are blessed.

Why This Practice May Be For You
The continuum of words related to gratitude go from greed and jealousy; through taking things for granted and feeling entitled; to appreciation, acceptance, and satisfaction. The practice of gratitude would be an appropriate prescription whichever one of the above describes your attitudes.

The rules of the grammar of gratitude are not as simple as they seem at first glance, however. For example, often instead of rejoicing in what we have, we greedily want something more, better, or different. We can't be grateful because we are making comparisons and coveting other possibilities.

When this happens on a personal level, when it's our ego that is dissatisfied, then we are ungrateful. But when we want something more, better, or different for the glory of God* or for the benefit of the community, this greed may be a manifestation of our devotion, our love, or our yearning for justice. And then we are grateful for these commitments.

*You might replace the idea of 'God' with the idea of 'Source', 'Creator', or other term representing your personal religious beliefs.

You can learn more about gratitude and being grateful from the books below...



Or for even more visit GoGratitude.com to join the Go Gratitude Experiment.

This year, I thought I would have a short list of things to be grateful for. When I stop thinking for a minute sometimes, and just feel grateful, it's easy to see how irrelevant negative emotions are. Gratefulness is empowering, and if you are a in the U.S. I suggest you take full advantage of the up and coming Thanksgiving holiday to practice finding things to be grateful for. I'm grateful for my family, my friends, and also I'm grateful for YOU! THANK YOU for reading this blog. I hope you enjoyed this post and keep the Attitude of Gratitude going strong! Happy Thanksgiving!

About the Author: Julie Phineas is a work at home mom of 2 who lives in Southern California. You can find out more about her and view her photos by visiting her page on MySpace.