The power of gratitude

Greetings dear friends of Hive, today I want to start sharing with you, especially with the friends of the @Project.HOPE community, some issues that are important to me, because they have meant a new way of thinking and living, especially during this quarantine where many of us have perhaps felt frustrated for different reasons. I would like to share with you some reflections that have made a difference for me these days, allowing me to get out of the routine of negative thoughts in which I was immersed. I hope that I can bring something of value to this great community and to everyone's life.

Source: Image edited by @yusvelasquez, original from pxfuel.com.

Gratitude

Energy flows to where we direct our attention, so when we only focus on the negative things, that is where our energy is centered. It is very easy when we go through difficult times to focus on the negative aspects, and without realizing it we just start digging deeper with our complaints and bad attitude. But when we are grateful and also pay attention to the needs of others, there goes our energy and equally, without realizing how, but we see things more clearly and even solutions come.

To clarify, when I say gratitude, I do not mean conformity. It is not a simple act of giving thanks and settling for what you have, nothing like that. It is to understand that one needs to learn to live in gratitude in order to learn to enjoy the good things in life to the fullest. It is not about giving thanks for living in a shack, it is about being grateful that we have at least a roof over our heads and the ability to go out and work for something better. Maybe in our current job we are paid very little, but it has kept us going so far and allowed us to acquire skills to now look for a better one.

When this quarantine began I began to complain about many things, about not being able to go out, about not being able to produce more and that we had to adjust the family budget a lot; my husband noticed the change in me, and that began to affect us. I spend some time (months in reality) to internalize that just complaining was not going to make things better, on the contrary, it was making them worse; it was when my sister began to send me through whatsapp some reflective reading that I understood that it was my perception of things that was disturbing me. I remember that the first reading was about gratitude, and it started with the phrase "grievance only brings poverty and gratitude leads to abundance", just this expression seemed to be what I needed to wake up, but we know that it is not so easy to get rid of a way of thinking.

I started by taking time each morning to be thankful for everything that was an important part of my life, my health, my child, my husband, my home, my family, my job, my dreams, my goals, everything I could consider. It wasn't just saying thank you for everything, when I listed them I felt better, I felt I had much more to be thankful for, so I realized that I didn't lack anything to start living the new day. This act of giving thanks gives you a different vision, it makes you feel that beyond the people around you you are not alone, that there is something else that provides you, but that sometimes we do not have the willingness to accept it.

Source: Image edited by @yusvelasquez, original from pxhere.com.

In this world where consumerism prevails, we can think that material things are what provide us with fullness, and this has led us to not be able to appreciate the small details, as if wearing a blindfold that prevents us from seeing the wonderful things of each day, due to the few or no time of contemplation, it is difficult for us, for example, to thank the simple fact of waking up every morning, and hugging our loved ones, because this simply goes unnoticed before our eyes that have lost the capacity to be amazed. Look at the children, they live in a constant state of gratitude, they love little things, my son is very happy if we spend an afternoon playing with him or cooking his favorite dessert together, and when he is given a gift he doesn't notice the brand or how much it costs, he only appreciates it for what it represents.

When we only complain it seems that we attract more problems, or it seems that it is the only thing we can find, I don't know, but when we live in gratitude things seem to come at the right time, although with some restrictions of course, I could realize that if we could handle the economic situation that brought this pandemic without the one that was our main source of income, that I just needed to change my attitude to be able to adapt to this reality and contribute with another of my talents, baking, instead of being another negative factor in the equation. I do not know what the explanation is, but we can find many stories where we see that grateful people are more successful than those who only live complaining.

When we give thanks, we vibrate in better tune, we have a better attitude, and it seems that the universe responds by aligning more experiences that add up to well-being and for which we can be grateful again. When we only complain, we are acting out of scarcity, lack, and just disconnecting from the focus of abundance, and therefore, we just keep finding or attracting experiences in alignment with that vibration.

Now I see things differently, I no longer complain about the situation generated by the pandemic, in its manifest place: I am grateful that this situation allowed me to meet again, to have time to contemplate my life better, for giving me the impulse to try another economic activity, and although I value it, I also hope that it happens to pursue other dreams.

Source: Image edited by @yusvelasquez, original from pixabay.com.

I admit that it is not easy, and maybe you are thinking it is easier to say than to do it, it is a hard thing for me at the beginning, it took me some time to change my attitude for a more positive one, but if we do not start doing it, we will not advance in achieving what we want, and once we do it, this attitude will teach us that even the events we consider unfortunate have something for which we can be thankful.

So, the complaint is only an anchor, let's be thankful for what we have as we pursue our goals. If we are not grateful for what we have, could we be grateful for having more?

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Well friends, I hope you liked this reflection I wanted to share with you, please let me know your opinion. And thank you very much for reading me!

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