“Thank you is the best prayer anyone could ever say.”—Alice Walker
I just finished a story called “Training to Be Superman” for Men’s Journal. It includes six other-the-top endurance competitions for earning your cape. It was fun to write, sorta tongue-in-cheek, but it got me to thinking that of all the superpowers, gratitude is my superpower of choice. And it comes with all kinds of perks. Here are my top five:
1. Gratitude is like a seed. It starts small, but it grows whatever you’re noticing into a super-size reality. Lettuce seeds are tiny, but they grow into these big green, nourishing leaves. By noticing even one tiny thing you like about an unpleasant situation, you can grow it into a giant green leaf of love.
2. Gratitude improves family relationships. Being happy is contagious and quickly spreads to your inner circle.
3. Gratitude brings you back to ultimate reality. It’s pretty easy to veer off track, to think “life sucks and then you die.” But when you stop for a moment and write a list of things you’re grateful for, you suddenly remember. “Oh, yea! Life is truly sweet.” As Adyashanti reminds us, “Reality is life without our distorting stories, ideas, and beliefs.” And when we’re grateful, those stories, ideas and beliefs don’t stand a chance.
4. Gratitude makes you happy. It makes you want to dance which, for those hoping to lose weight, is a pretty good technique.
5. Gratitude is the perfect superpower for any weekend. And since today is T.G.I.F. (I also celebrate T.G.I.M, T.G.I.T., T.G.I.W.,T.G.I.TH, T.G.I.S. and T.G.I.SU.), keep in mind that gratitude is even more potent than a cocktail. Make this weekend the best one of your life.
Pam Grout is the author of 17 books including E-Squared: 9 Do-it-Yourself Energy Experiments that Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality and the soon-to-be-released sequel, E-Cubed, 9 More Experiments that Prove Mirth, Magic and Merriment is your Natural State.
4 Responses
Thank you! Just thought that would be a good way to start a comment about your gratitude article.
I really like your writing style. Your are truely my favorite Loa author. You are always right on the spot , very inspirational and entertaining. So once again … thank you!
Can’t wait to read your next book…
All the best
G(ee)
Agree! Pam’s writing voice is unique. Thank you, Pam!
Thank you! I am so thankful you posted this! I do remember to feel grateful and to thank the Universe for everything I see and all I have. I am especially thankful for hot running water at my finger-tips, my wonderful hot shower every morning. I stand in that shower saying ‘thank you, thank you, thank you! I am sorry that most people in the world do not even have clean water, and I wish they did, but I am grateful for mine! I love your books! Thanks for making the effort to write them! Jenny Markakis
Hey Pam, I loved this! Thank you! My only comment is that I’ve come to believe and know that, vibration wise, ‘appreciation’ is a higher vibrational frequency than gratitude – and does seem to keep the victim side of me much better in check when I replace the word gratitude with appreciation 😉 .