“In expressing our gratitude, we must never forget that the greatest recognition is not speaking words, but living by them.” ~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy

The role of gratitude in my life was evident to me even before I watched The Secret DVD, but that video really reinforced it for me.

In her book Something More: Excavating Your Authentic Self, Sarah Ban Breathnach says, “Be grateful. That is the first step on the path of joy.”

Oprah, among others, has frequently advocated the use of a Gratitude Journal.

On one of his shows, Dr. Phil challenged a guest who didn’t appreciate anything to write down a hundred things she was thankful for EVERY DAY OF THE MONTH. Yes … a hundred things for a month! I couldn’t believe it was possible, so I accepted the challenge myself … and completed it.

Like I said, I’ve been aware of all of this and more for some time now, but it wasn’t until a few months ago that I really took it seriously and started writing down five things that I was thankful for on a daily basis. . I use a special booklet that I keep next to my bed and every morning before starting my day I write my thanks.

Something strange happens when I really think about all the blessings in my life. A feeling of peace fills me and, true to the words of Sarah Ban Breathnach, I feel a real joy as tears run down my face.

What an amazing experience!

It doesn’t matter what the day ahead or how many “problems” await my attention; no matter how well you slept (I often have insomnia and don’t fall asleep until 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning); nothing is meaningful to me except the incredible peace and joy I feel.

The only way I can explain it is that I am thankful for the gratitude!

It has almost become an addiction. Every morning, I can’t wait to write my gratitude and feel that feeling. I have even resorted to putting a gratitude reminder on my Outlook calendar and when it appears I say a little prayer: “Thank you God for all the blessings I have and all the blessings I am receiving.” Then I click Snooze to be reminded every thirty minutes during the day.

Nowadays I look around me and I recognize little things that give me pleasure like the comment of an old woman who referred me to her husband as “… this young lady …” (I am 63 years old!), Special conversations with friends specials, a creative solution to a challenge I’m experiencing, the return of the Chickadees to my bird feeder, the perfect card for someone’s birthday … any number of previously unrecognized blessings. When we start looking for them, miracles abound and the list is endless.

Apart from the wonderful feeling I experience, my gratitude has helped me in other areas of my life. You may be familiar with the Abraham Hicks Emotional Orientation System, in which you use your current emotion to determine whether you are aligned with who you are and what you want … or not.

If you are angry, resentful, bored or feeling something ‘negative’, your Emotional Guidance System is indicating that you are NOT aligned with your true self. On the other hand, when you are feeling cheerful, loving, happy, enthusiastic, or something ‘positive’, you are aligned.

When I feel that joy, how can I be something else that is not aligned with my true Self? This is how we are ALL supposed to feel … ALL the time!

It’s easy to get lost in worrying about some future event, or feeling guilty about something done or not done, or angry about someone’s words or actions, but the simple act of gratitude brings us back to the present moment where our power is.

Nothing ever happens in the future or in the past. Everything can only happen NOW. The future is simply our thoughts and feelings about something that we believe is going to happen, but we don’t know if it will happen or not until that event is NOW. And that event may or may not be as we think it will be.

The past is simply our memory of experiences that took place in a previous NOW. As such, they have no power over us. The only power we have is NOW, this present moment.

By becoming a habit to seek things to be thankful for, I found a way to help myself stay in the Now. Also, according to the Law of Attraction, when I am grateful for the blessings I already have, I attract MORE blessings in my future!