Aloha.
I'm Reverend Cindy Paulus and I wanted to talk about deep gratitude.
Now,
You know gratitude works.
I mean,
I've been doing it all my life but I found that when I did it,
I had an app.
It said,
Five things to be grateful for,
Daily gratitude.
I can do that.
But I found that when I was doing it just because I was daily doing five things to be grateful for,
That I wasn't allowing myself the time to really feel grateful,
To really absorb that power of gratitude.
And so I think it's maybe even more valuable than doing just a daily five things you're grateful for and you just do it before you,
You know,
Have something else to do.
To really stop and observe it,
Not just in your mind,
But to observe gratitude with love in your heart.
And that is amazing how,
For me,
It amplifies it.
Gosh,
It magnifies the gratitude.
Okay,
So think about when you're really grateful for something that might be life-changing.
I mean,
Maybe you didn't get in an accident,
You almost did,
Or you maybe,
Maybe,
Just maybe you had something really mind-blowing happen in your life where there was this great act of kindness,
You know.
Something like that kind of gratitude and the feeling you get for really allowing yourself to be grateful throughout your entire being is a very,
Very wonderful gift.
Now,
The best way to experience this kind of gratitude is to just stop.
To just allow yourself to take a moment and feel,
To really feel gratitude.
So,
So take some deep breaths and clear your mind,
You know.
Just breathing in and breathing out,
Breathing deeply and letting everything else go.
Clear your whole state of being and make some room,
Make some space in your heart to feel gratitude.
Go there inside to something really valuable,
Really precious that you are really grateful for and just allow that gratitude to fill your heart.
You know,
Gratitude comes in waves.
If you allow yourself right now to really feel grateful for your life,
For a gift that is so,
So precious and you open that space a little wider in your heart,
A little deeper and you allow this energy to fill you,
You'll start to feel a shift,
The awareness of how blessed you really are.
What an amazing thing these acts of gratitude,
These gifts of gratitude can be.
Breathe in that gratitude as if you were breathing in the nectar from the highest blessing that is present.
Ah,
That nectar of gratitude.
Oh my gosh.
See yourself surrounded in the color gratitude.
What color is your gratitude?
And how do you experience gratitude?
Reflect on the difference of really allowing yourself time to experience gratitude versus just a quick thank you.
We have so much to be grateful for.
We have so much to be grateful for in our life and when we allow ourself to stop,
Just stop and experience this gratitude.
What a great,
Great gift this gratitude is.
And now that you've opened your heart to gratitude,
Allow yourself to experience another act of kindness that you're grateful for in your life.
Someone that did something very kind that helped you.
And now remember how it felt that this person would just do an act of kindness.
Ah,
And be grateful for the kindness that people can show you.
Breathe it in.
Let it expand through you.
Allow it to come into your heart.
And now take the time to be grateful for your life.
Just to feel gratitude for being alive.
Think of all the levels of what you have experienced.
The love you have experienced.
The beauty you have experienced.
The emotions.
Oh,
And yes,
For a moment,
Just a moment.
Oh,
And yes,
For a moment,
Just allow yourself to be grateful for even the hard lessons.
The ones that were so challenging to get through.
And as you experience the hard lessons,
Take a space there to realize how much stronger you got.
How much more compassionate you got.
And be grateful for those hard lessons that helped you be stronger and more compassionate and a little more loving.
Be grateful for your life.
And remember,
Gratitude.
Gratitude is a gift,
But it's also a tool.
It's a tool you can use in your life.
If you find yourself getting upset and angry,
If you find yourself going into this kind of spin of victimhood,
And it can happen because there's many hard lessons that have to be learned.
But if you just stop and allow yourself to take some deep breaths and just experience gratitude,
You will change your state of mind.
You will change the way you feel.
You'll change your attitude.
You'll change the way you look at everything.
It's a wonderful,
Wonderful gift.
So,
Please take the time to experience true gratitude.
And I am grateful for you being here and taking the time to listen.
God bless you always.
