{"id":1343,"date":"2012-12-11T12:36:44","date_gmt":"2012-12-11T16:36:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/heartsdesireintl.wordpress.com\/?p=1156"},"modified":"2012-12-11T12:36:44","modified_gmt":"2012-12-11T16:36:44","slug":"gratitude-the-gift-that-keeps-on-giving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/heartsdesireintl.com\/home\/gratitude-the-gift-that-keeps-on-giving\/","title":{"rendered":"Gratitude: The Gift that Keeps on Giving!"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Gladys Diaz<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Giving<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The other night, we held our monthly Intimacy Skills Training Webinar<\/a>.\u00a0 The topic of the webinar was \u201cHow to Get More Help, Gifts, and Compliments: The Magic of Gratitude.\u00a0 Being on the call was \u2013 in a word \u2013 magical<\/i>!\u00a0 In just a few minutes of doing two exercises, all of us on the call were able to experience a \u201cshift\u201d in the energy around us \u2013 and this was a virtual<\/i> meeting with women from all over the world.<\/p>\n

In the first exercise, we walked through a few \u201cless-than-desirable\u201d scenarios and looked to see what it was that we could be thankful for.\u00a0 It was amazing how we were able to find things to be grateful for, even \u00a0when a guy arrives late for a date without calling to say he\u2019s going to be late; when our man chooses to invite a friend who just broke up with his fianc\u00e9 to what was supposed <\/i>to be a romantic dinner; and when our guy changes a light bulb 3 weeks after he said he would, and after<\/i> we tripped on the stairs (true story!).\u00a0 It was wonderful to see all of the things that the women were typing into the chat box as reasons for which to be grateful in situations where we could just as easily choose to be upset, make sure he felt guilty about doing something \u201cwrong,\u201d and potentially end up in a bitter argument.
\n
\nThis is because it\u2019s really up to us to allow <\/i>ourselves to feel gratitude.<\/p>\n

It may sound weird to hear that gratitude is something we need to allow ourselves to feel<\/i>, but it\u2019s true.\u00a0 As with anything else we feel \u2013 happiness, resentment, peace, etc. \u2013 feeling gratitude is a choice<\/i><\/b> we make.\u00a0 In fact, the degree to which we choose to be grateful in our lives determines how we see the world<\/i>.<\/p>\n

I made the analogy on the webinar of how withholding the feeling and expression of gratitude has us see the world through gray-colored glasses.\u00a0 When we choose to focus on what\u2019s not working in our lives, on what isn\u2019t \u201cgood enough\u201d or \u201cup to our standards,\u201d and we put a lot of energy into complaining about these things, it prevents us from being able to see the good that is already there<\/i>, right in front of us.\u00a0 We\u2019re so focused on what\u2019s missing that we cheat ourselves out of seeing and experiencing the things that are working.<\/p>\n

Once we shift our focus to seeing the things that we already have \u2013 and it is<\/i><\/b> a conscious choice we make to do so \u2013 it\u2019s almost as if we turned the switch from gray to \u201cHigh-Def,\u201d and we\u2019re able to see all of the blessings that have been right before our very eyes all along!\u00a0 We\u2019re able to see the things, the people, the situations, and the abundance of beauty that surrounds us in even the simplest of things.<\/p>\n

Now, granted, it\u2019s not always easy<\/i> to make that shift, especially when we\u2019re \u201cgoing through stuff.\u201d\u00a0 If, for instance, we just had an argument or broke up with the guy we love, are dealing with illness or death of a loved one, or have lost our job, it\u2019s hard to not get drawn into the sadness, anxiety, and despair that accompanies those types of situations.\u00a0 In fact, it\u2019s really easy to begin to feel sorry for ourselves and avoid seeing the things that we do <\/i>have, that are good and can still bring us joy, even in the face of an undesirable circumstance.<\/p>\n

Another exercise we did on the webinar was to write down in 1 minute at least 5 things for which we were grateful, including things about our dates, boyfriends, husbands, or men, in general.\u00a0 That\u2019s when the energy really<\/i> started to shift.\u00a0 In literally 60 seconds, everyone felt the magical power of gratitude.\u00a0 It was like a pulse of energy coming through my computer screen! At first, I thought it was just me, but then people began commenting, and I began to realize that this was real<\/i>.\u00a0 We were creating the experience of feeling and expressing gratitude<\/i>. And\u2026 we were all sharing that feeling across the globe!\u00a0 As I said before: It was magical<\/i>!<\/p>\n

So, what can you do to begin experiencing some of this magic, too?<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n

    Make a conscious choice to see things, people, and situations that are working in your life.<\/b><\/h3>\n

    This isn\u2019t about \u201cbeing in denial\u201d about the things that aren\u2019t working in your life.\u00a0 It\u2019s important to acknowledge what isn\u2019t working so that you can turn it around.\u00a0 However, unless you choose to turn your focus to the things that are working, <\/i>you\u2019re going to find it really difficult to deal with what\u2019s not, because it\u2019s hard to see what you are capable of doing and changing through gray-colored glasses!<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    Allow yourself to experience <\/i>the gratitude.\u00a0 <\/b><\/h3>\n

    This is more than simply saying a polite \u201cThank you\u201d when someone does or says something nice.\u00a0 This is about allowing yourself to feel <\/i>gratitude.\u00a0 Allow yourself to experience the peace, joy, love, and fulfillment <\/b>that these people, things, and situations bring to you and your life.\u00a0 Don\u2019t dismiss, minimize, or \u201cexcuse\u201d them away.\u00a0 Just take a few seconds to appreciate them and feel the gratitude.<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    Express the gratitude.<\/b><\/h3>\n

    Writing down a list of the things for which you are grateful is always a great practice.\u00a0 I love putting things into my gratitude journal.\u00a0 However, it\u2019s an even more powerful practice to actually express the gratitude for these people, situations, and things aloud<\/i> so that you and others can hear<\/i><\/b> it!\u00a0 So, tell your husband you\u2019re grateful that he commutes 2 hours a day to go to work (yes, even if you<\/i> do that, too).\u00a0 Tell your co-workers how much working with them makes coming to work something you look forward to.\u00a0 Tell your kids how much you appreciate that the playroom stayed clean for a full 24 hours!\u00a0 Tell your date that you appreciate how he walked around the car to open your door and how he picked a restaurant you enjoyed.\u00a0 And tell people how grateful you are for your health, your family, your faith, and your pets.\u00a0 Just share away!\u00a0 When you do that, not only do you get to re-experience that grateful feeling, but you are now sharing that feeling with others and perhaps even creating an opportunity for them to share what they <\/i>are grateful for,\u00a0 which helps shift their energy, too!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    So, go ahead, make a choice to shift your focus<\/b> to all of the blessings in your life, allow yourself to feel the gratitude<\/b> for them, and share the gratitude<\/b> by expressing it to others!<\/p>\n

    Gratitude is magical.\u00a0 It\u2019s transformational.\u00a0 It\u2019s the gift that keeps on giving!<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Image courtesy of: anekoho<\/a> via freedigitalphotos.net<\/a><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    by Gladys Diaz   The other night, we held our monthly Intimacy Skills Training Webinar.\u00a0 The topic of the webinar was \u201cHow to Get More Help, Gifts, and Compliments: The Magic of Gratitude.\u00a0 Being on the call was \u2013 in a word \u2013 magical!\u00a0 In just a few minutes of doing two exercises, all of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,8,9,13,16,17,21,22,23],"tags":[31,47,54,56,57,63,68,70,88,90],"class_list":["post-1343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dating-2","category-gratitude-2","category-hdi-blog","category-intimacy-2","category-love-2","category-marriage","category-relationship","category-relationship-advice","category-romance","tag-advice","tag-dating","tag-gratitude","tag-happiness","tag-hearts-desire-international","tag-intimacy","tag-love","tag-marriage-2","tag-relationships","tag-romance-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/heartsdesireintl.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/heartsdesireintl.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/heartsdesireintl.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heartsdesireintl.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heartsdesireintl.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/heartsdesireintl.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1343\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/heartsdesireintl.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heartsdesireintl.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heartsdesireintl.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}