The feeling of gratitude is a very empowering emotion both for the receiver and giver and creates many more positive interactions in the universe.
Often we are mistaken with a verbal expression of saying “thank you” without really feeling and expressing the heartfelt gratitude.
My experiences in my life has taught me to pause, absorb and to acknowledge what a situation or person has facilitated for me. As a result the phrase “thank you” which follows post this feeling and pause is the one which comes from the space of heart. Now this was indeeed quite a lot of doing and undoing because having worked in hotels for over15 years where we are literally taught to breathe out “thank you” it was some effort.
As a child feeling of gratitude is very natural. Remember an instance when you bring something for a child which he/she wants and the moment you give them, for a second or two they look into your eyes with a sparkle in their eyes and may not even say “thank you” but through that one magic look they make you feel immensely purposeful and nurturing. Isn’t it?
Interstingly as parents and society we start teaching the child to learn to say “thank you” without nurturing that feeling of gratefulness making the child grow up as an individual with words but lack of feeling.
One of the simplest technique to nurture the feeling of gratitude is every night before you retire close your eyes and pick up any three people from your that day’s experience, who did something for you. They could be any, could be your maid, who cooked or cleaned the home for you, your partner, who served you water in the morning, your child, who gave you a big hug before leaving to the school, the shopkeeper, who kept in his store and gave you that “something” you needed, pick up any three people. Hold that memory of them doing something for you and say mentally “thank you” and allow yourself to feel it. Do it for a period of atleast a month, you will start noticing many changes in your life. If I have to use a sentence for describing the takes of this exercise “It is life changing.”
When you start nurturing the feeling of gratitude you will find the Universe start giving you more of these nurturing experiences. Simple, so if you feel grateful to your maid and acknowledge it, you will start finding more of these helps who will make your life more and more easier and take you off the battlefield of “oh my maid has not come”, “I need to be always behind her to make her do things etc.”
A situation like this is a soothing breeze and welcomed in the life of many.
One of my mirror, who made me notice the lack of gratitude in my life, has been my friend Prashant Jain, who almost expressed in words “You say yhank you very easily, how often do you feel it?”
I didn’t realise immediately the intention behind it, however, overtime could now relate with it. Thank you Prashant for making me realise it.
Saying “thank you” has been an automated response for many. It comes from the need to return something immediately as soon as you receive something without really feeling and acknowledging the action of the person and experience the receiving of it. And receiving is joyous, however, we are taught receiving as a taboo of not being equal or a lack of something in our life.
It’s like a need to take a friend out for lunch as soon as they have taken you out for lunch, the return gift concept and many more. Acts like these takes us away from the present to acknowledge and receive graciously but to focus on what we need to do next to be a giver and score a equal next time.
Intrestingly receiving graciously filled with gratitude is an equivalent to giving with love. The receiving and giving are the equal parts of the “Whole of Love. “
And if you feel somewhere you have lost what it is to feel grateful, surprisingly you may would like to bring back your sparkling eyes you had as a child filled with gratitude and appreciation in your life. Just be warned the feeling of gratefulness is contagious and soon you will find it viral in the world around you.
THANK YOU.