Gratitude holds the key to unlocking so many doors, yet most of us are unaware of the powerful role it plays in our daily lives. In all honesty it would take me four decades to understand the energetic connection between Gratitude and my well being. I made the shift while I had been living in Paris, France. I had been there for three months and things were not going so well for me. I was broke. I was sick and I was not happy. I had spent a lifetime wanting to be there and it wasn’t turning out the way I had imagined it would.
One day, I did have a few extra bucks and I felt well enough to go outside for a few hours. My energy was still low, but I was able to manage. I took myself to a quintessential Parisian café and ordered my meal while sitting at one of the many outdoor tables that are simply everywhere in Paris. As far as the eye can see, there is a river of small round tables calling out to passerbys to be used. The French certainly take their leisure time seriously and I decided to join in too.
After taking my seat, I pulled out a book from my backpack I had been reading by Dr. Wayne Dyer. For some strange reason, I had previously stopped in the middle of the chapter instead of finishing it like I normally would have. I removed the book mark and I began to read. This section of the book that I was soon to cover was about expressing gratitude. I read those two or three pages dedicated to giving thanks a couple of times as I sat there. I suppose the Universe wanted me to wait until I was ready to read it—and now that I was ready I wanted it to seep in.
I had read by umpteen Spirituality teachers that gratitude is an important practice in the ebb and flow of life. I have heard it all before. I read it all before and I even consciously bought into it on an intellectual level. However, this time something was different. I was going much deeper than that. I was having my “a-ha” moment and I understood it on the Spiritual level and it was now a visceral reality for me. Dr. Dyer had written that even in our worst of times there is always something to be grateful for—and I took the message to heart.
After soaking in his prose, I felt inclined to recite in my mind everything that I appreciated. It didn’t matter how small or how large it was. I included it all. I started out by looking down at what the server had brought to me. I was grateful to the cow and the vegetables who gave their life to feed me. I thanked the farmers who nurtured and eventually picked the food. I thanked the driver who brought it all to the store. I thanked the store for selling it to the restaurant. I thanked the staff who prepared it and I thanked the server who brought it to me.
I next thanked the fork, the knife, the spoon, the plate, the glass, the water and everyone who ever had anything to do with bringing those items to me. I did not have to use my hands and that was a beautiful thing! I thanked all the ingredients it took to make the table and chair where I was seated for it enabled me to sit and relax as I enjoyed my meal. As the server brought the bill, I thanked the Universe for providing me with enough money to pay it—and to leave a tip.
As I practiced this exercise, I began to notice the difference in how I looked upon the world. I had been cranky for several months. I was only allowing myself to see the dark and gloomy aspect of my reality instead of honoring the blessings that surrounded me. I felt lighter—maybe because I was allowing my innate Spiritual Light to shine through. As I moved through this process, I didn’t want it to end.
I got up from the table and began to walk the glorious Parisian streets that I had coveted my entire life. I admired the buildings and I expressed gratitude for their makers. The French have a keen eye for creating beautiful window displays and as I passed each creation that emulated a fantastic work of art, I expressed my gratitude to the Universe for bringing beauty into my life.
I thanked the color green. I thanked the color blue and I thanked my favorite color purple. In fact, I thanked all the colors even the ones that were not my favorite, for they all allowed each of us to show our unique qualities by expressing our own different tastes in color.
I thanked the old cobblestone road that held the history of so many footprints that graced its path. In fact, I thanked everything I could think of. For three hours my brain created a never ending list that kept me busy.
As I walked the famous streets, something else began to happen that was easier to recognize in this physical reality. As I continued on my journey of gratitude, men, I mean really good looking men, started appearing out of the wood works—and they were all noticing me. I heard whistles from workers from above. I had many offers to have an afternoon intrigue. “Bonjour, mademoiselle.” “Un café avec moi, s’il vous plait?” The offers kept pouring in.
It was interesting, because for the previous three months since I had arrived not one single man noticed me at all. I grew up having a lot of attention and now there was nothing. I simply had chalked it up to the fact that I was now in my forties and that part of my life was over, but now I was seeing things from a different Light.
It really amused me. I mean, I hadn’t suddenly had facial reconstruction, changed my make-up or started working out at a gym. I didn’t physically look any differently than I had an hour before. However, during this first season I had been abroad, I had been permitting myself to experience only pain. I was mad at the world for my misfortune and I was mad at myself for allowing it to happen—and as I stayed in this place of negativity I was shunning anyone from wanting to be around me. Yet as I shifted my perspective, I made room for me to recognize the Divine flowing through me—and as I did so, I began to attract men in their forties, in their thirties and even in their twenties.
Furthermore, when I arrived home that afternoon and checked my emails, I also had an offer for a job. This experience enabled me to not only get some attention from men; it helped me to manifest some much needed income. It was all a good thing!
While I didn’t accept the invitations for any of the dalliances being offered, I did accept the lesson that the potential paramours were all helping me to realize. Spirit was showing me that we create our realities and when we genuinely feel the Divinely inspired gratitude that is a part of us, more of the good stuff manifests in our life.
It is my hope that every single person reflects on what they are grateful for. Spend fifteen minutes a day just rattling off in your mind everything you can think of. We each have the opportunity to experience Grace through Gratitude. Even in our darkest hour, we can celebrate the magnificence of the trees, the sky, the air in our lungs, the legs that get us from place to place, our families, our friends and of course ourselves. When we view the world as a great masterpiece, we will shift our realities for the better.
...and let me say that I thank YOU for reading my article today.
Namaste! (The Light in me recognizes the Light in you!)
