Taking control: How to hold on to gratitude in the mist of your storms!

Love will soon die without gratitude...!

If you could recall any one of your storms in the three areas that form your life purpose – relationships, wealth and health – all you saw was the world collapsing around you; sucking life out of you! You probably did not even return good messages during the period. Gratitude could not be part of the equation!

What is gratitude?

Gratitude is a collection of positive feelings and actions resulting from positive thinking. It is a result of a revelation of who the Creator is and all His creation, natural laws and the role of mankind as a steward in upholding its completeness. Gratitude is a significant part of enlightenment which shows mankind that he is a main ingredient in the design of the universe; that all is meant to benefit him when he acts in compliance with its supporting mechanisms. It is part of purposeful living which leads to self-actualization.

How to learn what gratitude is!

Learning is always a process; it is just as you learned everything else from infancy: You crawl, took the first step, walked and then ran.  You uttered one word, a few words and then learned to connect words to make a sentence. Gratitude is a spiritual growth wherein you notice that you are not a physical being; that the invisible self contains a lot of who you really are: A complex being that uses only ten percent of the brain for conscious functions for the five senses - seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and feeling with our skin.  The ninety percent of our cognitive processes are for unconscious functions such as digestive, nervous, immune and reproductive systems functions that control monitors your vital organs without direct conscious input. The remaining part is for archiving information and experiences in the subconscious mind. Your body remembers stuff you would rather forget. Think about that! For example, would you cope with remembering to breath, ensure that you heart beat accordingly and which organ needs which vitamin or mineral to function! That is a lot to be grateful for! You have a body that is automated, intelligent and refuse to be de-schooled when it comes to maintaining a flow of positive energy. In other words, your body tells you when you abuse it; you get ill – physically or emotionally. This is why controlling and manipulation (which are by-products of lying) are such a huge task which affect your immune system negatively; it produces a negative energy and therefore runs in opposite direction to gratitude which supports life in totality.

Gratitude in Relationships!

Relationships are important and you became who you are now through informal learning; your first teachers were your parents, extended family and then other social institutions. If you are still living in a bliss with your chosen spouse or partner, congratulations! It denotes that you value each other through gratitude! If you are struggling and wondering what went wrong with the physical attraction and emotional attachment, pause and take a moment to reflect if one or both of you took each other for granted! Gratitude in relationships pertains to:

a)   Loving another person for who he or she is and not because he or she gave in to your selfish controlling and manipulation. Manipulation could hide in occasional flowers with a card – carefully worded to express love. Well! Love is an action word and as the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. Gratitude is a key in kindling love with new positive energy daily.

b)   Are you the only one who do laundry, cook and take the trash out? Gratitude will not allow one partner to slave, but will enable both to be  stewards of harmony without becoming accountants in terms of how much and how many times one or both did chores! When you want to minister to you partner through gratitude, it will be joy to you, not a burden. It will be an act of love that speaks volumes of how much you value your spouse or partner; it will be a lifestyle of fresh expression of love everyday!

c)    Paying attention to details: Do you know that this is more practical at home than at the office when you attempt to appease your boss? Let the first statement when you meet your mate show that you care; ask: How was your day? Let the words reveal and exudes your love. Offer a glass of drink or water, garnished with something that say; ‘you are home and you are appreciated’!

If both of you show gratitude, would there be a room for controlling and manipulation? No! Gratitude is about appreciation of life and using it to bring what you want in abundance. The Law of Harmonious Attraction recognizes gratitude and will surely make your relationship flourish! The Creator is Love, and those who want to access life goodies memorized one element of the divine definition of love: Develop a short memory of wrongs and never refer to a past mistake. Decide to see the goodness by saying ‘thank you’ even when you encounter a challenge. Each time you express gratitude, you practice and experience self-control, which is the last of the nine attributes of the spirituality according to the Bible (Galatians 5:22). Gratitude is an expression of your responsibility to take control of your life and rise above the challenges; focusing only towards becoming what you purpose in your heart.