by Rev. Elizabeth Rowley,
Spiritual Director
August 2, 2019
Did you know that gratitude is excellent for your health? Studies have shown that the practice of gratitude leads to greater happiness, increased energy, improved kidney function, reduced blood pressure, and a stronger heart! Every night before bed, I list at least five things I’m grateful for that day before drifting off to sleep. When I wake up in the morning, I list at least five things I’m thankful for in my day ahead, appreciating the blessings in advance, setting my intention for the great unfoldment of the day. Then I go out and experience my best day ever.
When paying bills, I like to say a little prayer of gratitude as I send off the money. Thank you PG&E for the gift of light and heat; Spectrum, for the gift of internet access; garbage man, for picking up the waste; water company, for the steady flow all month; AT&T for phone calls, text messages, and more! Most importantly, thank you, sweet Spirit, for expressing as all of these companies and services provided.
Hot showers and baths, washing dishes, doing laundry, staying warm, cooking, storing delicious healthy food; streaming Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and music; surfing the internet, working from home, checking email and posting to Facebook are all made possible to us because of you! What a gift!
I am overflowing with appreciation as I bless this exchange of money for the excellent utilities and services provided and joyfully send it forth to heal, bless, and prosper! It’s God in action, and I’m grateful.
You can activate the law of attraction when you sit down and write that for which you are grateful. The gratitude may come slowly first: one here, one there, then, suddenly the spigot is turned wide open, and everything you’re thankful for comes flooding out, faster than you can write them down. The grateful hose is unkinked, and you begin to understand how blessed you are.
One beautiful day my beloved and I were hiking a hill behind our condo. We were talking, laughing, and starting to feel the ache from the hike in our bodies. We began to share back and forth things for which we were grateful. We stopped for a moment to drink some coffee. I looked down on the ground and saw rocks in the formation of a heart.
Before sharing our gratitude, we were just walking on a rocky, dirt hill and feeling the ache from it. After the gratitude sharing, it was as if we had received a kiss from the universe. At that moment, we felt connected to all of life. There was a lightness about us, and we practically skipped to the top of that hill.
Try this affirmation on for size: I’m grateful, thankful, and blessed. My heart overflows in appreciation for all that is. I am gifted, shifted, and lifted. I’m on the high side of awesome at the top of my game. Thank you.
And so it is.
