The companion of humility is gratitude. As you may recall, we understand humility to be more receptive in its nature, as we need to provide for ourselves a state of mind to receive what we require or what we have asked for. Gratitude in its nature has a little more of an outgoing flow, as it involves the active part of the mind. In other words, we engage our minds through the action of appreciation for what we have received. Humility and gratitude together provide for us a sense of wholeness or completion in our inner process. We can recognize the importance of being humble as we go about our lives, and how challenging it can be to learn how to appreciate who we are and all that we have. If we were honest with ourselves, we would notice that we desire too much at times and forget to be thankful for all that we do have and how much we have grown.
In order to truly understand the importance of gratitude, we need to first stop the process of wanting more. From a higher perspective, we do always have everything we need. The universe does intend to provide for us. We cannot move forward however if we do not accept and be grateful for what already exists in our lives. Even the difficult times and the stress we often encounter provide an opportunity to learn more. We can in fact be grateful for our suffering by understanding that something new and better is coming our way. Most of the time, we are grateful because we think we “should” be. This is not sincere. Many times, we are attempting to be grateful when our real motivation is that it will allow us to ask for more. In order for gratitude to be genuine, we need to understand that it’s not an obligation. In my experience, it’s better to want more and appear to be selfish than to be thankful with hidden motivations. Honesty is the key. In order for us to understand how we can work with ourselves with the issue of self-interest, it can be helpful to broaden our perspective on what we can be grateful for. If we are able to see gratitude within the bigger picture, it becomes easier to apply it in a more personal way in our daily lives. Let’s consider the following.
An acknowledgement to previous generations
We so often falsely believe that we are doing everything ourselves and are creating our lives anew. The reality is that there are many who have, through their efforts, prepared for us the possibility of a better life and world prior to our appearance in the present time. All previous generations in our history have attempted to improve the conditions of humanity. Were they perfect in their approach, and did they create everything they could have to make things better for us? No, but they certainly did the best they could have with what they understood and what they had to work with in their time. Each generation will see improvements in humanity’s living conditions and society in general as they apply the understanding and methods of those that have come before them. Most importantly, we have an opportunity to make any adjustments and changes that are more suitable to our current time. We are in essence building upon a previous foundation. Let’s not forget to be grateful to all of those great human beings who helped prepare us for what we will encounter and create today.
Gratitude provides inner peace in our present moment
We all have those moments when we realize that we’re OK and everything is going to be fine. These are the most important moments for us to be grateful. Inner peace is established when we enter the place of acceptance. We can trust these moments by understanding that, although they will most likely be fleeting for most of us, they will return once again. We engage with the work that needs to be done and indeed encounter the accompanying stress, but we also understand that peace and calmness will again be our experience. This is the cycle of life.
Appreciation of others
It’s a great idea to get into the habit of appreciating our fellow brothers and sisters and all that they do. There are all levels of experience and understanding within greater humanity. Not every individual is at the same point. Perhaps we can be more compassionate and teach others with a helping hand when it’s presented to us. Let’s not forget to be thankful for the jobs and work of every person. No matter what that job is, it is necessary for the world to work for all of us. The most important thing we need to remember is that the stress and struggle of life are the same for all of us as well. We can say thank you, we can be grateful. Gratitude is made possible by the love that is available to us. This is the place we build from. We build a better life for ourselves and all those around us thereby.
Say thank you today – it doesn’t cost anything, and it feels great!
All my love and support, stay safe and be well