The Power of Gratitude

In the past year I’ve experienced a shift in my understanding of how life operates. It is hard to be fulfilled with your life without a deep foundation in gratitude. Two-Thousand Fourteen wasn’t the best of years for me, and that is putting it lightly. But amidst all of the chaos that was my life I found my gratitude. Some people call it hitting rock bottom. Looking back, that experience was actually pretty liberating. I stood on the ashes of an old way of thinking. Whenever I become mindful of my breath I think about that time when it felt like I had no breath at all. I realized every inhale is a gift, and so is each exhale.

That moment opened my eyes & took my focus away from all of the things in my life I didn’t want & didn’t care about and put all of my attention on those people & things I really should have been grateful for. Since that time I try to focus the least amount of time worrying about the negativity around me. One of the things I did to snap myself out of that negative state of mind was to create a list of what I was grateful for. It started off slow, but now the list I carry around is twenty-one pages long. Granted, the list it is in my phone, but a year ago I could have listed off one thousand & one things to put on the “Things I Hate” list. I’d call that progress.

I think the key for me getting to that point was I felt as if I had come to the end of a road. Pretty much every part of my life seemed stalled. Once I rooted down in my gratitude, it seemed as if the Universe gave me the slightest nudge so I knew which way to go. I know now that nudge came in my discovery of yoga. I believe that purposefully creating the emotion of gratitude in your heart is the key to unlocking the controls to your life. This mindful act is the sunlight that allows our lives to grow lush & beautiful. Even when day inevitably turns to night, we must not forget the coming dawn.

I believe devotion to self is key to understanding gratitude. We are all given a tool with which to convey our gift. Understanding why you are here allows you to be grateful for the tools you’re given, which gives you the drive to shine your brightest. I feel like so many people today aren't utilizing the tools or gifts they've been given to the fullest. Look how the sun sits up in the sky and provides us with as much sunlight as is physically possible. It ask nothing in return. It has no expectations. It simply shines its light, its gift, in every possible direction. The divine consciousness of the universe allows that energy to function for one very specific & crucial task. We too need to find it within ourselves to execute the task imprinted on the energy of our spirit. Consider the people in your own life who’ve influenced your understanding of the world. Imagine how different you would be if these individuals never shared their gifts with the world. I believe achieving this level of passionate execution can only start with the emotion of gratitude. It is the feeling of utmost satisfaction & harmony with the world & our function therein.

Are there areas of your life where you’re being too negative? I challenge you to put those thoughts aside; focus on the positivity & abundance already in your life. Trust me, I don’t think anything bad can happen from being too positive. The stronger your positive charge, the stronger your attraction to the like (and that’s science).

“Everything is energy and that’s all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality. It can be no other way. This is not philosophy. This is physics” -Albert Einstein

{contributed by Yoga Bar student + karmi, Dom Fowler}