Why We Should Care About Being Grateful

Why It’s Important To Be Grateful

I started my practice of gratitude a long time ago. It started because my life, at the time, felt as though it was all falling apart. But no matter how bad it was, I always found something to be grateful for. It was actually what kept me sane enough to get me past all the hell in my life. Perhaps I didn’t always see it at the time, but when I look back, I was always taken care of in one way or another. It was magical at times. Someone or something was always showing up in my life to keep me going. And this is why it’s important to care about being grateful.

Humans are very similar in many ways, therefore you and I are not that different. God, The Universe, The Infinite, whatever you choose to call that entity, is pure spirit of life and love. And we are all loved equally. It does not care who you are, what color your skin is, or what religion you are. Nor does it care whether you believe in God or not, whether you are rich or poor. It does not care what your profession is, what your sexual orientation is, none of it matters. God’s love for you is unconditional. If God’s love is unconditional for me, it’s the same for you. I can say this because I have lived it. I try never to forget this when things start looking bad.

When things start going downhill, I start feeling sad, depressed, hopeless. It all feels negative, and the thoughts are fueled with more negativity. I get the poor-me’s, saying stuff like, “everything is falling apart, why do these things always happen to me”? It’s silly because I know better, but still it happens. I remember years ago being stuck in a lousy mood for days, and had no ambition to do anything or see anyone.

I don’t remember when or how it all started. But I eventually linked gratitude to not only feeling better mentally, but also noticed that things on the outside would change. My negative circumstances would magically disappear and good things would begin to happen for me. With gratitude came a shift in my focus on life.

I remember when I started being grateful for the things I didn’t have and I would find ways to be grateful in that way.  All in a backward kind of way. For example, if I felt bad that a relationship didn’t work out, I would always find a reason why it was the best outcome for me. I often discovered that it was a stroke of luck that this person was no longer in my life. I would sometimes find out later that this person had cheated on me, stolen something from me, and/or lied to me. And some were just plain using me. I always found ways to see the truth of the situation and in the end, I was grateful for the outcome. There were times when The Universe tried to tell me to get out of a relationship. However,  I chose to ignore that advice to my detriment.

If I was lacking funds, I would be grateful for learning ways to become more frugal with the money I had. Somehow never ran out. I remember particularly when I was in my mid-forties. In those days, I was a single mom, a homeowner, and I, with a grade 10 education, decided to go to university. And I had no idea how I was ever going to accomplish that. With a grade 10 education, I didn’t even have the education to be accepted, nonetheless, the money. My application was sent out, and I was invited to meet with the Dean. I was accepted, got a student loan, and off I went. I had to travel from my hometown and live there during my semesters. There was rent, utilities, books, and university fees in one town, plus my mortgage, insurance, utilities, and everything else needed to keep my home.

Help came in different ways than I expected. Money doesn’t always show up in the form of dollars and cents. Occasionally it came  through the  kindness, of the people who loved me. I needed a computer for university, so my x-husband was kind enough to supply me with a little beauty, no strings attached. Then, I needed a place to live, in a safe environment close to the university. As I was visiting my x at his office one afternoon, he introduced me to one of his clients. He just happened to drop in that specific time and day. This gentleman lived in the town I would be living in and he called his mom who was renting rooms in her home. Only a ten-minute walk to the university. The room was mine by the time I left the office that day.

I met people, awesome people, during those four years who oftentimes insisted I go out with them to dinner or whatever the occasion. They knew that I never minded eating at home. I continually argued the point and insisted that I would join them after dinner for the evening. They always won the battle and most of the time paid for my meals. Things like this happened to me all the time. I continue to be grateful for all these circumstances and for the people who were always there treating me with love and kindness.

These things happened because I cared about being grateful.

Good things have been following me all my life, but I didn’t always know it. I had to learn about gratitude and how to use it. It took me a long time but I eventually realized the benefits. The more we focus on gratitude, the more positive we become. Sometimes I wonder if gratitude was built into us as a natural way to live. Making our journey here healthier and easier for us to maneuver our way around the challenges we encounter.

I started to look more closely at my moods and saw clearly, that when I paid attention to the ugly stuff, my mood became ugly. If I changed my focus by finding a positive spin to all the ugly, the mood ultimately changed. And so did the circumstances around me. Even my health improved.

When I allow myself to dwell on negative situations and people, I become negative. My mental attitude suffers, and so does my health. When I focus on gratitude, my heart rate goes down. So, I eat properly, look forward to my walks and being out in nature. As a result, I sleep much better and my stress dissolves. I can focus on all of the good in my life. Finally, I become a better person to be around which improves my relationships.

Think about this for a moment or two, who would you rather be around? The person who seems to be focused on self-pity all the time, or the one who takes life as it comes?

I went through self-pity for years, full of fear, doubt, mistrust, worry, insecurity, and lack. Misery followed me a lot of the time and I sometimes wonder how or even why people liked being around me. I asked a friend once why she was one of those people, her answer surprised me. She told me that she never sensed negativity in me. Apparently, I always made her laugh, and that I was always fun to be with. It sure wasn’t what I felt inside. And I was constantly worrying about everything. It was a case of keeping things to myself more often than I thought. I didn’t want pity, I just wanted a better life for myself, and pity was never going to get me there. To change the direction of my life, I  had to build myself up.

Somehow through all the lack I became a stronger person, and definitely more independent. It was great that I started to believe in myself and my abilities. As a result, I started to love myself. I knew I had a choice to make, be focused on the negative aspects of life or to become grateful for everything. In the end, I finally understood that everything that happened to me, happened for a reason, and my life began to change for the better. It all boiled down to a state of mind and I had the power to be in charge of the messages I gave myself.

Because I cared about being grateful, my moods improved, the way I looked at life changed, my relationships improved. I became happier and instead of feeling lack, I found abundance all around me. It took a long time, but then again, I had a whole lot of learning to do. I’m not finished learning and I still fall short of my goal, but I get better every day.

Once I started seeing my lack as a gift my life began to change and I became stronger. I still have to live every day and yes issues arise all the time. However, now I have a tool, gratitude. I use it a lot and I am constantly learning to express it more often. I am so much happier and healthier. And this is how gratitude improves our relationships. And why it is important to care about being grateful.

 

My point is, gratitude makes us happier because we cannot live in a state of negativity when we are in gratitude mode. When we care about being grateful things change. Because we are thankful for everything, every circumstance in our lives, it is impossible for anything to be wrong.

How we feel is just a matter of perspective. We become healthier when we are in a grateful state of mind, both mentally and physically. It improves our moods and thus our relationships in whatever form they may be. It is important to care about being grateful and to do so.

What you can do is, start to care about being grateful, and by saying thank you for 1,2, or 3 things in your life when you wake up in the morning and before you go to sleep at night. Try doing so as you are falling asleep so it stays with you in your subconscious.

I begin with gratitude for just waking up. For my body and all the parts, my life, my loved ones, my home, clean water, clean air, food, and the list goes on. I can make that list as long or as short as I want to, I can just say a simple “thank you”. Even if I’m busy doing other things, I still have my mind and can give thanks and gratitude quietly in my heart. It is so important to care about being grateful.