I Give Thanks

That's 1,440 minutes in a day. Are you willing to give up one moment for a breath of gratitude?

Sometime ago, my eldest daughter, who works for a well-known retail store and is sometimes astounded by people's attitudes and behaviour when shopping, was telling me about a man she had met in Australia. He had amazed her with his positive attitude. "He was always upbeat," she told me. "Always grateful."

"He lives with an attitude of gratitude," I said.

"Oh my goodness. That's it!" she exclaimed. "Working in retail it's easy to forget about living with an attitude of gratitude."

In today's world where markets continue to fall and despair continues to rise, having an attitude of gratitude means being thankful for what we have -- and letting go of worrying about what we don't have or how much more others have. An attitude of gratitude keeps me focused on my life, on living my Be. Do. Have.

Outside my window, the earth is blanketed in snow. The temperature has fallen and windchill factors threaten to freeze exposed skin in moments. And there's nothing I can do about it except bundle up if I go outside. And, adjust my attitude. If there's nothing I can do to change the weather, what if I spend a moment to just say Thank you? I have a home to keep me warm. I have a roof to keep me dry. And the world sure is pretty all dressed up in white. I am grateful.

Gratitude is an attitude.

Gratitude expands my heart and keeps me open to receive abundance.

I like what Anthony Robbins writes, "“When you are grateful fear disappears and abundance appears.”

When I focus on gratitude, abundance appears. When I focus on fearfulness, abundance shrinks as I fall into the trap of believing there is not enough of whatever I want in the universe.

There is always enough of what I want in the universe. I just have to turn up and be present. I just have to live in my Six Points of Power -- 1. Pay Attention. 2. Speak the truth. 3. Be responsible for my experience. (Be accountable) 4. As for what I want. 5. Keep my agreements. 6. Strive to create value in all things.

It's up to me to BE committed to DO what it takes to HAVE what I want. I want to be filled with gratitude. I want to be filled with abundance.It's up to me to live with an Attitude of Gratitude.

Last week I decided to build my own website. Now, I don't know anything about building websites so first, I researched options, ideas, methods of doing it and then I set to work. And I mean work. It hurt figuring it out. It hurt my brain trying to grasp concepts foreign to its natural flow of thinking. But yesterday, I sat back and sighed with relief. My website is online. Job well done.

I am grateful for those who wrote the code, the tutorials, the software and all the other elements of creating this website that I found online to help me in my quest to build my online presence. Heck. I'm grateful that somewhere back in time someone had the wisdom and creative drive to create this thing called The Internet. It keeps me learning, growing and informed. It gives me a place to write, to meet new people, to explore new horizons. And for a research junkie, it's a gift!

There were moments in building the site that I did not feel grateful. I just felt frustrated. But, to have what I want, I could not let the frustration keep me back from being committed to doing what it takes to make it happen. And so instead of letting my frustration stop me, when I felt it growing I simply took a moment to express my gratitude for those who made it possible for me to create my site. Thank you.

I have 1,440 moments to spend today. Some of them I will sleep through. But whether sleeping or awake, when I fill my heart with gratitude, set my sights on abundance and embrace my thoughts with love, I am better for this world and the world is better for me.

I am grateful for this day. For this world of abundance. This life of creativity. This moment of joy. I give thanks.

The question is: Are you willing to take a moment of the 1,440 moments you have to spend today and say, Thank you?