As human beings, it is very easy to slip into the mindset of being overly concerned about our present circumstances. Some of us may worry about protecting our current situation, while others may desperately want to change it. It is not for us to get embroiled in either concern. When you live a life of gratitude, your focus shifts from concerns and worries to acceptance and empowerment.
Practicing gratitude develops a mindset that, regardless of present circumstances, we are in the right place at the right time and these circumstances have a purpose. Over years of practicing gratitude, I have realized that every event has the potential to lead us closer to our own fulfilment faster than any other path. You will reach a higher level of fulfilment in life than you ever imagined. Physical health, mental health, sleep, living circumstances, and financial wellness become pathways to living a life of gratitude. You also realize that present circumstances play an important role in your development. They become the tools of your life coach, refining you and setting you on a path to further fulfilment.
As easy as this is to say, the proof is in the pudding. Until you take a leap of faith to believe that living a life of gratitude is your chosen decision and practice it, you may never fully understand what I am saying. The benefits of living a life of gratitude are only experienced through the act of actually doing it.
Reflect on your present circumstances. We all have situations happening around us that we either truly love or wish were different. These circumstances can range from health concerns, financial worries, relationship issues, work-related stress, to broader concerns like weather events or global political issues. Turn on the local or world news, and you may find yourself quickly caught up in all these concerns. The temptation for most in life is to be dragged into the concerns that surround us.
I am proposing that you stop yourself in your tracks. Certainly be aware of your circumstances; however, the important part is to nurture your outlook. Instead of being overly concerned about an approaching cyclone, a relationship difficulty, a financial matter, a health issue, a work-related concern, or a world or local event, rather focus on the present moment and give thanks and gratitude for this moment in its perfection. Life is perfect; we just don’t see it from our traditional perspective. We don’t recognize the perfection of life in its entirety.
If you were on the international space station looking over the earth, you would recognize a planet defining perfection. Even if you saw a cyclone forming off the Australian coastline, life would look perfect. The earth, the moon, our solar system, our galaxy, and the universe have a perfection beyond our understanding. We don’t realize the full perfection of life from the smallest creature to the largest. We don’t even recognize our own perfection from one human being to another.
We don’t need a religious perspective in life. We don’t need to rely on any religion or spirituality. When you see life from my perspective, your desire or need to rely on religions dissipates. You quickly realize that life becomes your coach, and you don’t need to pay your coach thousands of dollars to assist your success in life. Life itself becomes the essence in refining, directing, and guiding us to reach fulfilment without any need for rules, regulations, or commandments.
No difficulty is beyond the reach of gratitude. Once you practice gratitude, you give thanks and praise for your present circumstances, you let go of attaching meaning and thoughts to the things that encompass your life, and you allow life to guide, direct, and determine the outcome. And the outcome is always in our favour.