Giving Thanks In Advance

The reality is.

.

.

Is that bad things are going to happen to you.

They have happened,

And they will continue to happen.

Yeah,

Depressing,

I know.

Sad,

I know.

A bit confronting,

I know.

But it is the reality.

It is the truth.

The real truth is that no matter how blessed your life is,

No matter how good your life is,

At some stage you will end.

At some stage the people close to you will pass.

At some stage you will face injury and illness and old age.

Change will happen no matter what.

Yes,

Bringer of bad news.

But so much of us spend so much of our time in denial of that simple truth.

We live as if.

We are never going to end.

We live as if nothing is going to change.

We hoard and we act like Well,

We can hold on to a moment forever.

But that's impossible.

And not only is it impossible,

It is quite irresponsible,

Right?

If we know at some future stage that bad things are going to happen.

Surely we should be acting in a way to account for that,

To prepare our minds,

Our bodies,

Our souls for that change.

You know,

Obviously,

We're taking our steps to best prepare.

Obviously,

We are holding on to things when we can.

But we know that things are going to change.

And change isn't necessarily bad,

But it can feel bad at the time.

And some changes definitely are impactful.

But the truth is,

Is that at some stage.

.

.

Things will change.

At some stage people will pass.

At some stage you will get injured.

At some stage you will get sick.

What can we do about that in the moment?

What can we do about that now to best be prepared and respond for it?

There's a couple of things.

We can take stock of what we have now.

This is like a gratitude practice.

It's like,

What is going on well in my life now?

What is good?

What do I have?

Because I tell you what,

I really think about my health when I'm healthy.

Right.

I'm healthy right now.

I don't have an injury or an illness that is bothering me.

But if I was to come down with some sickness that made me have a sore throat,

Headache,

Cold,

Whatever.

I'm gonna very much notice that.

But I only notice health in its absence.

Right?

Same as injury and illness.

If my body gets injured and I no longer have some sort of functionality that I was used to,

I notice it because it's the absence of health.

So let's take a moment now and just appreciate what you have.

Now,

Yes,

There'll be things that you're struggling with.

Yes,

There may be things that are bothering you.

Yes,

You may not be fully well right now.

But if you can be listening to this,

If you could be engaging in this,

If you can be experiencing this moment,

You're alive.

So there's something at least there to be grateful for this very next breath.

Let's take a moment to just hand up on the heart space.

Slow,

Calm breath.

And be grateful for what we have.

And if you're not sure Be grateful for this very next breath and the fact that you have the technology and live in a society that gives you the capacity to engage with this in this moment.

That's something.

Notice your thoughts going to what you don't have.

Notice that craving,

That desire,

That impulse.

Acknowledge you.

That's real.

That's okay.

What do you have now?

A gratitude practice has been shown to improve health and happiness levels.

But I want to take it a step further for you.

What if we gave thanks in advance for the wonderful things that are going to happen?

What if we gave thanks in advance for the wonderful things that are going to happen?

We know that bad things are going to happen.

I spent a good minute or so on that.

But we also know that good things are going to happen,

But our brains aren't geared to thinking that way.

It's beneficial evolutionarily speaking,

To be anxious,

To be concerned about the future,

To plan for it.

Obviously,

Right?

We need to plan so we can prevent,

So we can continue and prosper.

But we know also logically that good things are going to happen.

At some stage in the future,

Something good will happen.

Multiple things,

Many things,

At the very least a breath,

At the very least the sun will shine,

At the very least when you're thirsty you'll have a cup of water,

Right?

But there'll be tremendously good things that will come.

What if we gave thanks in advance for the wonderful things that are going to happen?

As a gratitude practice into the future,

As us looking and manifesting and seeing and acknowledging and.

.

.

Really breathing that truth in.

Good things are going to happen.

Now,

Yes,

Your brain will instantly pop up.

Oh,

But what about this and that and the other?

That's what brains do.

We put that over here.

We acknowledge it.

Bad stuff's going to happen.

Thanks,

Brain.

We've covered that thoroughly.

Thank you so much.

I appreciate it.

I'm here.

I'm acknowledging it.

I will address it.

My logic brain knows.

And my emotion brain wants.

To focus on the good.

Good things are going to happen.

Because here's the truth.

If we focus on the good things that are going to happen,

If we embrace and keep our attention towards it,

More good things will happen.

This isn't woo-woo,

This isn't some sort of mysticism,

But sheer truth.

What we focus on,

We tend to move towards,

Right?

I'll give you a basic example.

If you are looking to buy a new mattress or to get a car or you're looking to get a different house to rent in or buy or whatever,

Chances are in that time and in that space,

You will see more advertisements,

More opportunities down those paths because you're attuned to it.

In the same way,

If you're focusing on good things that will happen in the future,

You're more likely to be attentive to it.

You'll recognize,

Take a breath and pause when they do come,

And also lean in and move towards those opportunities to give you more of whatever is good for you.

The sun is shining and you're like,

Oh,

That's a good thing that will happen.

And rather than just ignoring it,

You will go outside and sit in and embrace it and really help you to engage in that act of self-care to be the houseplant that you are,

Right?

I joke,

But I'm also being serious here.

If we are able to give thanks in advance for the wonderful things that are going to happen.

We're more likely to see them,

More likely to create opportunities for them,

And it becomes a self-perpetuating cycle.

So yes,

Bad stuff will happen and we need to plan for and account for that and take action.

But we shouldn't only focus on that.

We should focus on the good in our life that already exists and on the future good that is definitely guaranteed to be coming.

At least the breath.

Most likely much,

Much more.

So I encourage you now.

Let's sit.

Just one minute.

And give thanks in advance for the wonderful things that are going to happen.

Let's try it and see how we feel.

So I'd know about you,

But when I focus in that way.

I can't help but smile and my mind is just going bang,

Bang,

Bang.

Good thing,

Good thing,

Good thing,

Good thing,

Good thing.

I know in reality,

Those moments will be interspersed with negativity.

But if my mind is focused on the positive,

When those positivity moments come,

Bang bang bang bang bang.

I'll be there for it fully.

Yeah,

The negative will come.

But just by focusing and giving thanks in advance for the wonderful things that are going to happen.

Oh boy,

I'm excited.

I'm excited for the rest of my day.

And I hope you are too.

See you next time.