Gratitude

Gratitude is something I try to express and feel every single day. I know a little about gratitude from many angles. It was one of the common themes that I took from the movie ‘The Secret’. The message I took from this movie around gratitude was – what you focus on and imagine and talk about and live, you get.

Then I did a course on The Law of Attraction, if I didn’t realise the need of being aware of my thoughts before this programme, I was totally convinced of how important it was after it. We are amazing energy beings and what we focus on is literally what we get – to the grateful heart more is given. The universe wants to give us more of the vibration we resonate at. So, the strong learning for me was; choose your thoughts carefully.

My lived experience has also taught me to focus on positive energies like gratitude, blessing, love, joy, fun… When I am doing this, I feel better in myself, I tend to attract more opportunities to express love, joy, hope, etc and less for fear and overwhelm. When the fear and overwhelm come, I do manage these states so much easier – like surfing the waves of stress that I always talk about.

So I make a conscious choice to focus on being grateful, even when I may not always feel like being grateful. But even when I write this sentence, I know that I can always find something to be grateful. What about you? Can you find some little thing to be grateful for?

Stress Doesn’t Go Away – I Just Choose To Manage it Differently

Stress doesn’t go away because I am choosing to focus on more successful energies. I just manage it so much better and easier. Like last weekend when I was walking Slieve League – a mountain in Irelend. This mountain is 601 metres above sea level and is believed to have been a place of pilgrimage in days of old. Walking most of Slieve League is mostly not that challenging, unless you are walking on a very stormy day, but there is one part that is very difficult and did cause me some stress.

It is called ‘One Man Pass’ literally because only one person can pass this way at a time. That is because it is a line of rocks declining or inclining depending on your route. There is no ground either side of these rocks, it’s a straight drop down.

Fear

I know how fear can ruin your life. I now know how to reduce and retune fear using Tapping. I have always had a fear of heights, but because I now Tap every day, my normally debilitating fears don’t hold the same power over me. Even the fear of heights.

How did I get down that very slim and high ridge? First, I made a choice not to think about it. But rather to just do it. I didn’t look down. I focused on the very rock I was on and then, when I had safely reached a point of moving from that rock, I shifted my focus on to the next rock and began to see where exactly my hands, feet and bottom were going to go. I was climbing down these rocks so I had decided the best way for me was to bum shuffle along the rocks. That meant it could be very easy for me to look down, but that was not in my best interests.

On a few occasions I did look up. I looked out at the beautiful sea and sky and was grateful for this amazing day. Then it was deep breath and back to the task at hand. I could feel the fear mounting as I heard my partner, who was just ahead of me, reach the last rock and say she was too short to reach the next rock. But, I knew I had to keep going, I had to acknowledge this fear, be grateful for my brilliant mind, body and soul and take the next shuffling move downwards.

As I approached the last rock, I heard myself say aloud – ‘I totally feel this fear and I’m doing it anyway.’ I said this as I took that last big step and landed on a slightly wider rock. My body was now tense, my knees were beginning to shake but I had done this – I had managed to climb down One Man Pass.

Blessings

Blessings come in all shapes and sizes. We often miss most of the opportunities we get for feeling blessed because we are so focused on the challenges we face and the negative thoughts they trigger off as we get into a stressed state.

I know that everyday I am blessed with gifts to help me through whatever challenge comes my way or is about to come my way and this day was no different. Just as we reached the top of Slieve League, and a little while before we came to the One Man Pass, we got talking to a man who climbed this mountain regularly. It was he who had mentioned to us that there was a very tricky and challenging part coming up and we didnt have to do it, but it would be worth considering. He actually waited for us at the pass and was there to help us if we got into trouble.

This offered me an opportunity for more blessings and to be grateful for all the people, thoughts, energies that come into my life just when I need them the most. I don’t believe we are given any challenge that is not achievable. I also know I am given the help that I need, I just have to look around me and make the choice to take that help.

My Gratitude Challenge For You

LIke I said at the beginning of this post, I firmly believe that to the grateful heart more opportunities for being grateful will be given. How much time do you give to counting your blessings each day? Do you set aside a time when you will deliberately seek out the moments you can be grateful for, even in the most stressful of experiences? Make a choice, this very moment to count your blessings and find moments for which you can be grateful. Perhaps first thing in the morning, or last thing at night, or at both times.

Some Tips For Your From My Experience

When your gifted with a challenge that will test your coping skills:

• don’t over think the situation
• make sure to know there is going to be an end to this challenge
• focus on the first step first
• look around for the support that is there and be open to receiving it
• on occasion look up and see the light, the blue sky
• don’t look down into the past triggers or failings
• make sure to acknowledge the fear and the great job you are doing right now
• finally, make sure to celebrate every breath and step you take as a true success

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