More than twenty-five hundred years ago, Plato said: ‘A grateful mind is a great mind which eventually attracts great things.’ The grateful mind opens the way to the flow of the Universe and becomes an attractive force to draw to it great things.

Giving thanks begins a process of transformation that can be demonstrated in all aspects of our being. The act of giving thanks strengthens, energizes, empowers and invigorates our minds. It regenerates our emotional nature and our physical body. An actual surge of energy permeates the atmosphere and can be felt as a healing activity in both our mind and body.

Giving thanks is not a reactionary emotion, it is a causative energy. We’ve been so oriented to be externally motivated that we have not developed our capacity and ability to be grateful in every moment for whatever it is that is happening in our lives. Our negative judgments have locked us into a very limited way of seeing life.

We can either live a vital and fulfilling life or be victimized by the events of life. Every one experiences the highs and lows of life. Those who live as victims get mentally stuck in negative judgment. Those who live as victors have practiced being grateful in all things and can more quickly move out of negative feelings such as disappointment and despair.

We don’t need something in particular for which to be grateful; we only need the desire to feel grateful. As we persistently give thanks, we create an Attitude of Gratitude. This is a self-developed attitude where we see the inherent good in and through all things. We sense and identify with the Creative Intelligence of the universe and Its expression through all of life.

Cultivating an attitude of gratitude

In having an Attitude of Gratitude, we consciously bring forth our awareness of God. I prefer to use the term Spirit to describe the omnipotent, omniscient, everywhere present Power of God. Because Spirit is in and through all life, it is the core of our nature.

The energy and power of Spirit within us is ever ready to come forth into greater expression in our lives and affairs. We need only to look to nature to see that Spirit is always seeking for the greater expansion and expression of Itself. This power of Spirit within us lies dormant in potential until we call it forth in our thinking and through the power of the spoken word.

As we lift our perception by having an Attitude of Gratitude we call forth the power of Spirit in our lives and we can live in the mindset that ‘all is well.’ No matter what the seemingly horrible or challenging events in our lives, we can perceive that all is working together for our highest good.

Bringing forth the best in the world

Have you ever noticed that when we are in the mind-set of having an Attitude of Gratitude we bring forth the best in the world? We see the apparent inter-connection of events and people and experience the synchronicity of being in the right place at the right time.

A while ago, I sustained a broken bone in my foot and wasn’t able to put weight on my leg for twelve weeks. Things looked dismal and bleak because of the difficulty I had moving around. Feeding myself, and getting to work were very complicated tasks. Fortunately, I remembered the importance of giving thanks in all things and I began to say aloud, ‘I have an Attitude of Gratitude’. Repeating it over and over, I put a rhythm to it. Then I began to sing it. I made it into a jingle like you’d hear on a radio commercial. I would sing it through the day and the repetition and rhythm of the tune altered my attitude. Things began to rapidly change as my mood and energy shifted.

Since moving around was very challenging for me, I thought I could design some kind of a device I could use to help me get around easier. I figured that my brother Jay, who is both brilliant and handy, could create the specifications and then build it for me. So, I called my Orthopedic Surgeon with my plan. Amazingly enough, just a few days earlier, he had received a brochure about a new device for patients who could not put weight on their leg. One of his patients, who is a famous player for the New York Jets football team, had recently used the device and told him about it. That’s what I call ‘divine synchronicity’. My Attitude of Gratitude had brought forth the ideas necessary to transform my circumstances.

The gifts of life are as abundant and as fulfilling as our perception and awareness allows. As we cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude we can experience the absolute opulence of the present moment. As we allow and open to the energy and power of Spirit, we are blessed beyond our wildest imagination.