“When
you are grateful fear disappears
and
abundance appears.”
~
Anthony Robbins
I was smack in the middle of an “I don’t have a thing to
wear” moment, with most of the contents of my closet strewn across the bed and
floor, when gratitude first entered my live in a conscious way. Already late for work, I finally threw
on a suitable ensemble and dashed to
the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast. Standing in front of my open fridge;
full to the brim with good, nutritional foods, sweet treats and a jug of clean
water – it hit me: While I was
furiously rummaging through my closet FULL of quality clothing - cursing the
clothes gods for my lack, and then there fretting in a kitchen stocked to extravagance,
1,000’s, no, 100’s of 1,000’s of women
across the globe had likely dressed in their
only item of clothing, had been on the move for hours, and would likely
spend the rest of the day searching for something their family could eat. The
image literally brought me to my knees.
It was an AH-HA moment that struck like lightening, and has remained
with me ever since.
I spent the next few days in hyper- conscious thought around
all my good fortune and its contrast to the many who had so much less.
Recalling how inconvenienced I felt when my car broke down and I had to rely on
family members to transport me to and from my daily labors for a few days, I
thought about the millions of men and women who awakened in the dark to start
the long hours of maneuvering through the public transportation system to
ultimately reach their work place (where they likely earned barely a living
wage). I recalled the fear and
anxiety I felt when my Mom became ill and entered the medical system for the first time and about the
people who carried their loved ones
for miles and days, in hopes that the visiting nurse in a hut in the next
village might have something to ease their pain. I thought about the many wonderful vacations I’ve enjoyed
with family and friends and then of all the people who, because of their
circumstances, had never left the towns or villages of their birth, had never
seen the ocean or a forest.
Gratefully, I resisted the temptation to sell all my
material goods and run off to save a third world country, and instead came to
this realization: it is not for us
to lord our good fortune over others’, nor to discard the gifts we are given,
but to receive, with gratitude, that which comes our way and share it, where we
can, through compassion, kindness and love.
That is what I’ve tried to do, in some small way, each day
since that morning on my knees in front of the refrigerator. Since then I’ve
been committed to being grateful everyday, thoughtfully finding and
acknowledging (I keep a gratitude journal) the Grace in my life, the blue of
the sky, the laughter of my grandson, the good fortune of having a safe car.
And since I started my practice of gratitude, my life has become even more full
of things and people to be grateful for, and I am.
Choose gratitude as your attitude this
week – and see what happens.
Namaste -
Dorothy
