A Day Of Gratitude
Friday, April 6, 2012 at 2:00PM I’d love to be able to say I have always lived with gratitude in my heart. The truth is, though, I don’t remember! Our society is one of such entitlement; who am I to say I did not dance there? in the space of entitlement? After all, in a day of lightening speed internet access, why would I choose dial up? Or crank windows over power windows (apparently the crank windows are still out there!) Or local TV over cable? Am I not entitled to the best? (who defines the best?) If I can pay for it, why be thankful for it?
Years ago I dated a man who was extremely generous. I always thanked him, and I was most sincere with that Gratitude. One time he looked me straight in the eye and said something like “as long as there is gratitude, I will continue to give. When there is not, it will stop.” Wow. There is a whole topic of conditional love or behavior here, but let’s set that aside for now. He was right, in a way. What fun is it to always give and give and give and have it go unappreciated, unnoticed? I can say, and I do remember, that if anything, I was always proactively thankful for his generosity toward me.
Last fall I met someone whose philanthropic passion is Gratitude. I think it flipped a switch, as since then, my Awareness of Gratitude has been heightened. I notice websites dedicated to Gratitude; I notice Facebook Pages dedicated to Gratitude. I notice when people are in a state of Gratitude. I notice when I am in a place of Gratitude. When I voice gratitude aloud, my body has a visceral response. It is EVERYWHERE. 
In light of that, I am implementing A Day of Gratitude once monthly on my Facebook Page. Each second Tuesday I invite you to come to my Page and share what YOU are grateful for. Share a word, sentence, story, photo, web link. It is my hope, prayer and intention that by opening up a small space for you to come visit and express Gratitude that your awareness will be heightened. A natural outcome of that will be a heightened frequency within your Being, and that will impact our global consciousness. Win/win/win. What is better than that?
In Grace and Gratitude, I offer you blessings.
Next stop: Second Tuesday Day of Gratitude, April 10, 2012!
Reader Comments (13)
A monthly day of gratitude - what a lovely idea!
One of my favorite sayings is: a grateful pocket attracts more riches.
LOVE the gratitude stuff! I keep a 'One Year of Daily Gratitude' on my biz Facebook page for this very thing!! I love being able to start the day, publicly, with things I'm feeling grateful for that morning... Granted there are days when I'm not feeling very grateful (but rather, am feeling grumpy or whatever), but I find more often than not that I'm able to get into a better space emotionally by being open to talk about what I *Can* feel grateful for in the moment... Gratitude = magic! <3
Just before I read this Marita, I was thinking how grateful I am to be working from home. And for being"my own boss" lol. And yes, that make SO much difference!
Recalling what we are grateful for and blessed with is such an inspiring thing to do-it fills us with love and light and allows us to shine just a little bit brighter. I am grateful for a beautiful son, life with my beloved husband, and right now a gorgeous garden!
Ooh, I'm looking forward to the next Day of Gratitude already!
Marita, the part about giving without feeling any gratitude struck a chord with me. I think it's a trap that moms (and dads and others, of course) can get stuck in quite easily. On the days when I'm shortest of patience with my kids -- when I'm the snippiest and most short-tempered -- if I'm able to take a breath and a minute to settle, I realize that it's because I feel like I'm giving everything and seeing no appreciation of the gift. Of course I love my children unconditionally and would continue to give regardless -- but everything is made so much nicer by a little "thank you, mommy."
Love your style, as always. xoxo
Short but sweet that's what I love best about this post. It hits home with how gratitude can raise your vibration and send you on a completely different path without doing anything else much differently. Simple and sweet. Love your idea about sharing monthly our personal gratitude's. Let me know if you have some kind of automated system I could sign up for to remind me to do this. In love & gratitude ~ Julie
Love this idea. I find that the more we nurture gratitude the more it multiplies. I want an abundance!
You just came up with a perfect idea Marita. Many of us keep on complaining on minor stuff when there is so much to be grateful for... a simple yet beautiful way to remind us all of how lucky we are and how beautiful life is. As a start, thank you for your amazing post. xoxo
Allow me to express Gratitude for you ALL and your encouragement for this new practice and sharing how you practice Gratitude in your lives. Spread it far and wide. ~ Hugs!
Marita, I will take part in your next Day of Gratitude in May for sure. I re-discovered your posts for me, I really enjoy reading them.
I think gratitude is a breeze of fresh air when when we are stuck in a daily rut. There are so many things and people we are taking for granted. Gratitude for me is one of the ways how to deal with challenges. When you are tuned into gratitude rather than seeing problem you will notice how many friends are there for you and being grateful for that.
About the man you were dating years ago, need for appreciation is understandable, however true generosity gives without expectation. It's another reason to be grateful for when you can give without expecting being acknowledge.
Gratitude is always a good thing to be aware of.. it shifts our energy in a moment, more than anything else I can think of. A grateful heart doesn't need to overindulge in much.. it's filled up and in all the right ways. Love your Gratitude Day idea on FB.. will come by and see what everyone is sharing.
love and blessings,
Lisa
http://www.Intuitivebody.com
Simple Sacred Solutions For Living Beautifully In Your Body
I like the sentiment of this post, but I have to say that I'm more of an appreciation kind of girl myself.
I feel that gratitude has an energy of...... "I'm lucky to have this" or I don't deserve it" ....someone else being responsible for my happiness.
To me appreciation feels more empowered and in alignment with the unconditional love side of things. I appreciate the gift...the beauty...the generosity. I appreciate my life, the people in it. That feels so much more expansive.
What do you think about this Marita?
Gratitude sure can change your life and how you see every minute. Even so-called bad experiences teach us so much and once we are grateful for those ... WOW!
Love this page, Marita!
And thank you so asking me to share my video .. not sure if this will work but here you are: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNkwAlAunoU&feature=plcp
HUGS, N