Daily Inspiration 9-23-10

"There is not a more pleasing exercise of the mind than gratitude.

It is accompanied with such an inward satisfaction

that the duty is sufficiently rewarded by the performance."

-- Joseph Addison

I speak of gratitude often because it is the one thing that I can trace my own mental change back to. As I have utilized it and expanded it in my life, it has grown more and more important and joyous at the same time. And, it is the simplest thing in the world to do, and I think the single most rewarding thing in my life. Isn't that an interesting statement: the single most rewarding thing in my life.

If I want to have joy in my life, I can have it in about 2-3 seconds any time I choose. All I need do is decide to be grateful for something. It can be anything. It can be the color of the sky, the hand at the end of my arm, the smell of the air, a smile on someone's face or on my face, someone laughing, or a million and one other things.

I no longer need to wait for someone else, await the proper circumstances, have it be payday, or any other thing external to my mind. I just decide and it is done. Once you realize that we each have that same ability, it is so empowering and life building. Having that control over life is truly wonderful, and I make more use of it every day.

Once you start to be grateful on purpose and on your decision, you will find more and more things to be grateful for. When I first started, it seemed that there wasn't a lot, but I found some things and began in earnest, later I found more, and I have and continually find more to the point that there pretty much isn't anything that I cannot be grateful for. Isn't that interesting! I wouldn't have even thought that was possible just a few years ago. I guess practice does make perfect!

Here's a good way to start. Take out a sheet of lined paper and at the top, write I Love. . ., then on the first line write something that you love. Then, continue down the page and add more pages. You will begin to find a lot of things that you love and that focus will automatically cause feelings of gratitude. Heck, I love the smell of wet concrete on a hot day. It is a distinct smell and reminds me of when I was a kid at the swimming pool (we called it the plunge) and I would get out of the pool and lay face down on the concrete and the sun would be trying to dry the concrete and the smell was very nice and so different. You see, you can be grateful for just about anything if you decide you can or you are. The I Love. . . list will really help get you going.

Enjoy your new gratitude list!

I Now Find I Am Grateful For The Most Common Things That I Used To Ignore Or Not Even See.

Spread Some Joy Today--Don't worry be happy is a good thought. Make your I Love. . . list and watch the world around you change--for the better!