A grateful heart is a happy heart that keeps us present and content in the present moment. When we are grateful, the so-called “challenges of life” fade away as we focus on the joy accompanying our thoughts of gratefulness for whatever comes our way. Amid a grateful heart, we find the peace that passes our human understanding. Even as life’s storms roar about us, we feel peaceful and can be safe harbors for our fellow man who has not yet found peace. This beautiful attitude of gratitude can only come from a heart and a mind rejoicing in gratefulness.
If we awaken to be grateful, any fear or judgments that block us from appreciating ourselves and others are destroyed. We can express our gratitude throughout the day. As we do so, a feeling of contentment and peace comes over us—even when unexpected events occur.
We can set our life’s course with grace and ease as we follow the gratitude star. Because our intentions are focused on being grateful, we begin to think less about ourselves—and more about what is happening within and around us. As a result, everything we encounter becomes more beautiful and significant, holding deeper meaning than in our pre-gratitude lives.
As we practice gratitude, the ego begins to lose power over us. We no longer feel compelled to judge others or ourselves. Instead of seeing life through a lens that focuses on separation and lack, we see it as one great web of interconnection and abundance. Gratitude opens our hearts, minds, and spirits to all that is good in our lives—and in others’ lives too.
As we now see and experience everything through the purifying filter of a grateful heart, we automatically attract more reasons, things, and situations for which to be thankful. The world seems so alive more than we could have ever imagined. Sometimes it is hard to tell if our joy and happiness come from this earthly plain or a celestial dimension. The world bathed in the loving light of gratitude seems ethereal, more stable, trustworthy, and more solid than ever. We reflect on the actuality of this state, and we know that we are one with each other and with the spirit, and all is exactly as it should be.