Living a Noble Life

When you take inventory of what you have to be grateful for, your faith is bound to increase.

... Having an attitude of gratitude will always draw to us more and more for which we can be thankful.

Reflect on putting your relationship with God at the top of your personal list. Without my relationship with God and spiritual laws, I would have lost my way and my faith a long time ago.

I recently visited a distant cousin who is in the end stages of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS (also known Lou Gehrig’s disease). She and her family exude such love for each other and are thankful for every day they can be together. During my visit, my cousin’s eyes still twinkled as she laughed, although she could no longer move or speak. As spiritual beings we are not to pity such dear ones, but we need to show them compassion and share our loving-kindness with them.

Pity separates us from another’s suffering, while compassion opens our hearts and connects us to that individual.

When we are practitioners of gratitude, we learn to be thankful for everything. Even those events in our lives that appear to be unpleasant will—if we look for it—reveal a hidden blessing to us.

My heart swells with gratitude when I meditate on what I'm thankful for in my life.

Let each of us look through the lenses of gratitude at everyone in our lives and celebrate the obvious delights as we'll also uncover the hidden ones. There is no better way to spend your own quiet time than reflecting on the reasons you have to be truly grateful.

My husband David first comes to mind. I will be forever grateful for his arrival 23 years ago. It remains a joy to be in our committed relationship in which we share our spiritual journey, interests, and lifestyle.

The next wonderful blessing is to be the only daughter of parents who loved, nurtured, and encouraged me. My depth of gratitude knows no bounds for them.

My mind drifts to treasured friends and spiritual teachers, all of whom supported my spiritual awakening. I am thankful for later teachers who fanned the flame of the writer in me—from other authors to my totally supportive literary agent, to phenomenal editors and publishers. My literary agent is a person who exudes an attitude of gratitude and who, without saying a word, has taught me what it means to be a gracious person.

When we push the pause button and reflect on all those who have blessed our journey, many people come to mind.

For me, it is my ministerial classmates and my beloved congregants who swell my heart.

Here are a few techniques on how to deepen the consciousness of gratitude for yourself:

1. Always hold God at the forefront of your mind, and first and foremost give God the thanks.
2. Make a list of your dear ones and send each a loving blessing during your meditation time.
3. Send a note of thanksgiving to each person on your list, making sure it arrives before the Christmas onslaught of mail.
4. Call or see personally the ones for whom you feel the greatest appreciation and tell them how you feel. As the song says, “Shower the people you love with love/Tell them the way that you feel.”

What a difference you will make in their lives and yours.

A major shift in global consciousness would occur if we all sent such love and thoughts of gratitude into our home, work, church, community, state, and world.

Collectively we have the power to shift consciousness and bring forth a transformed world through the expression of our love and gratitude. 

This article appeared in Unity Magazine®.