A Really Great Place to Live

Much has been said about ways to improve your life; you’re reading some in this book. Perhaps you’ve already tried different approaches, some that helped and others that didn’t. One thing that is irrevocably true is this: anything utilized to improve your life must have its origin in love because love is all there is! I have discovered one empowering tool that is required for life to flow in perfect harmony, no matter what happens in your external realm. It can literally transform your life into one of abundance and continuous bliss because it resides in the arms of love, a really great place to live.

For many decades I lived my life through the eyes of lack, believing there was never enough: not enough money, love, happiness, time, energy, and so forth. Lack is simply a by-product of fear (the opposite of love), although I didn’t realize it then. I noticed that most individuals who crossed my path lived through the same mind-set, and there seemed to be so much negativity in everyone’s life, which was downright depressing. However, like most people, I fell into the trap of pushing and driving myself to achieve and produce more so that I could have what I thought I lacked. That process tore down my health and created an insatiable thirst for what I didn’t have, leaving me miserably unhappy.

My life journey continued in the search for the missing things in my life, yet I wondered if I’d ever find them. I learned how to make more money, but somehow, it was never enough. I tried for years to “fix” my marriage, but that didn’t work either. I changed careers, introduced healthy alternatives, researched and studied many new ideas, and decided to be a more loving person. I introduced time management and added a “things to do list” to my daily routine in the attempt to reduce stress and accomplish more, but no matter what I did to enhance my life, that inner despair that told me something was lacking still existed. These things did help in external ways to improve my life, but I later learned that the problem was with my internal self.

One day, I began to see a faint glimmer of light as teachers appeared because I, the student, was now ready. New ways of thinking were introduced that began a tremendous shift in my very foundation. An expansive metamorphosis took place, and my life opened up in ways that were mind-boggling. I learned that happiness came from within me and wasn’t anybody else’s job to create but mine. I discovered my true life purpose and began to live it. My health improved, and I made changes that supported me rather than someone else. Yet, negativity remained in my life because I knew deep inside that something was still missing.

Several years later, the awareness of what was missing in my life was revealed to me through meditation, prayer, and study, and it was so simple that it surprised me. One feeling, once taken deep within so that it becomes part of you, will literally change everything in your life so that your entire perception of life shifts for the better. What is this feeling? Gratitude. I mean gratitude for everything, not just the good things but also the things that appear as challenges. Everything in your life is a gift, a truly marvelous gift that helps you grow. When you actually see life through the eyes of gratitude, it raises you up beyond what was envisioned before in truly miraculous ways.

Gratitude is an expression of love and is a top-of-the-list tool for empowerment. In fact, without the comprehension and acceptance of gratitude it is impossible to be empowered. The universe provides unlimited abundance, but if you don’t believe this, you actually push it away. Beginning with gratitude for all you presently have and are opens the channels of love to embrace you. This isn’t merely the use of the words; it literally means pulling the feeling of gratitude inside so that your life begins and ends through gratitude. In this place it doesn’t matter what appears in your life because you can gratefully accept it and trust the universe to provide the resolution. Gratitude means that there is always enough, and when your truth is gratitude in all things, it emanates outward to all who are in your presence because you feel it within you.

How does living through gratitude affect your life? It allows you total freedom to be love. In this place you are already okay, a masterpiece from the designer of the universe, which makes you magnificent right now, just as you are. The beauty of living in gratitude is that as you focus in this energy, you continually expand it to create more of the same. Thoughts are pure energy, and whatever is your focus shows up in your life. As you express your thoughts and feelings from the higher elements of love, only more of the same comes back to you. Gratitude expresses through the essence of love. As Plato once said, “A grateful mind is a great mind that eventually attracts great things.”

My truth says that in order to improve your life on all levels, simply develop the attitude of gratitude, but go a little deeper, and develop an aptitude for gratitude. It then becomes more than just a thought or behavior and actually becomes who you are. Amazing miracles will appear in your life that will continuously keep you in awe of the power available to you when you live through gratitude. While many things can assist you on your path, gratitude is of God as an expression of love, your true essence.

Begin and end each day by thanking your Creator for everything: your life, home, material possessions, all relationships, internal gifts, capabilities, your body, and so on. Write them down, speak them, think them, live them. Even if there isn’t enough money to pay your bills at the moment, be thankful for the amount you have to pay the ones you can, then be openly thankful to the universe for bringing you the rest you need even though it isn’t seen yet. When a challenge shows up, say “thank you,” and know that there is a gift in it. Also, know that you are greater than the challenge, and expect the universe to resolve the situation. Surrender the challenge, and go about your life. It will be resolved effortlessly because you are in a space of love when you are grateful for it and know the answer is on the way. Living in the state of gratitude generates continuous abundance and bliss—no stress, no worries, no lack, no fear—and a deep internal knowing that all is in divine order. Try it out, and I guarantee that you’ll like living there! One more benefit—you’ll smile a lot!

** This article is one of 101 great articles that were published in 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life. To get complete details on “101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life”, visit http://www.selfgrowth.com/greatways.html