Dr. Marion Somers
The concept of gratitude and appreciation has been around since the beginning of time. I have had as a daily practice, first meditating in the morning and expressing the things to be grateful for in my life. I end my day with the expression of gratitude giving very specific examples to myself and therefore amplifying the good in my life.
As someone who has worked with the elderly for decades and those who have challenges be they physical, mental or emotional—when I have reintroduced the concept of gratitude into their lives, I have witnessed changes in their thought process, some changes very subtle and others substantial. Gratitude has been known to open the individual to avenues and ideas not previously sought. The wisdom of the generations have taught their children and off spring to express appreciation and say thank you.
Gratitude enhances the individuals ability to open their emotional state to an expectance of a positive outcome or an upliftment out of their present circumstances. There is an opening of the thought process that something good outside of ourselves will happen. These concepts bring us closer to the understanding that the only one we can change is ourselves and not others. The expectance of good may change the physical, the psychological, the social, and the seemingly impossible.
When imbued with the sense of gratitude, some of the benefits that have been experienced are joy, feeling more alive or awake. With a sense of gratitude, it is easier to be more forgiving and compassionate. Gratitude takes practice and the appreciation and application that there is good in our lives, stated as a positive reality. When we let go of the negativity that we feel maybe surrounding us, it allows for transformative energies to lift us and our spirits are freed.
The simple act of saying thank you and please is a way to acknowledge that even the simplest act directed toward you or another helps you both. Please and thank you show respect and helps create a harmonious atmosphere. When I have worked with my clients, and they take on gratitude as part of their daily diet of positive thoughts, they have often found they are less concerned about all the what ifs of life, but appreciate the now and the immediacy of their present moment, their present experience, their present life.
