There's a key that opens the door to abundance. And I don't mean just monetary wealth - although this can definitely be part of the picture - but the inner richness that comes when the soul is living its purpose. It's a deep sense of satisfaction, joy, peace and freedom.
This key is so simple yet so easily overlooked. It's called gratitude.
Unfortunately, gratitude is a word sometimes loaded with morality. I clearly remember, as a child, my father's harsh words as he told me to be grateful for the food on my plate. His approach didn't work though: it just made me feel guilty for having more than the poor starving children of the world.
Neither is gratitude a flippant "Thank God … it's not as bad as it could have been!" If being grateful has any sense of limitation around it, then it really isn't gratitude!
Gratitude is an attitude of deep reverence, a taking into your heart all that life has to offer. It's a tender appreciation of THIS moment AS IT IS.
Every footstep, every breath, the sound of children laughing in the distance, the gift of sight so that you can see the world, every thought, every feeling … all these can be tasted in their fullness and embraced as gifts.
Everything that happens, even if it appears to be a painful or difficult experience, can be welcomed into the softness of appreciation. You can choose to either tighten against what is happening or to open wide and simply let it into your heart. The magical thing is that when you are truly grateful for everything that comes your way, you transform your reality from misery to joy!
Gratitude is something that we need to practice: often it does not come easily as our old habits of complaining and feeling like "something is wrong" get in the way.
But we can take it one step at a time and practice by turning our attention to the ordinary everyday things first. For instance, as you walk to work or stand at the bus-stop, take a few moments to focus on what you might be grateful for … it could be as simple as the warmth of the sun on your skin or the fragrance of spring flowers.
Or if it is a grey working morning, perhaps you can focus on the gift of your body as it carries you about your day or the very air that you breathe or the sky above your head. However miserable things appear to be, there is always something you can be grateful for!
If you dig deep enough inside and open wide enough in honest acceptance of THIS moment exactly AS IT IS, you will eventually feel the magnificence of life itself and gratitude will pour through you in blissful waves.
The more you practice gratitude, the more your life will be filled with joy … and joy attracts good things to you. When you can be grateful for the little things, the big things will come in their own time! This is the secret of abundance and happiness!
I recently asked participants on one of my retreats to write a "Letter of Gratitude to Existence." I allocated about 20 minutes for this to happen … but in fact the process lasted at least an hour and some people carried on writing after that too! It was as if a deep well had been discovered, an endless bounteousness that bubbled up and infused the room with such delicate delight. After that, everyone was smiling all day long!
I invite you to try this too … It is best to have no time constraints … simply allow yourself to enjoy this for as long as it keeps flowing:
Turn off the phone, make sure you won't be interrupted and maybe put on some very relaxing ambient music on in the background. Take a piece of paper and write at the top: "Dear Existence, I am grateful to you for …….."
And now simply let yourself write down whatever comes to you, however insignificant it may sound - do not censor anything, let it flow freely from your mind and heart. You can include material things like your clothes, your home, your food, etc, you can include people you know, and you can include experiences you have had.
Write down everything you think of and try to give as much detail as possible. You will find that memories of events and things that have happened in the past will surface … some of these may be joyful and some may be painful but you will find that you might see them from a different perspective.
Be genuine in how you feel but also give yourself enough time and spaciousness to go beyond your judgements … gratitude comes from the heart.
So, keep going like this, looking at your current life and your past and maybe your future too … look at the small things and the big things, the mundane and the transcendent. There are no limits to this … keep going till you feel you might burst, till you feel overflowing with reverence for the miracle of life!
And when you feel absolutely complete with writing this letter, simply put it away and go about your day …. and watch how perhaps the quality of your experience is different, how both your inner and outer reality might be infused with the glow of love … enjoy!