I went to bed last night thinking “an attutide of gratitude.” I dreamt all night about “an attitude of gratitude.” I woke up with “an attitude of gratitiude” on my mind. I guess that is what today’s blog is about.
What exactly is an attitude of gratitude? It’s the act of being grateful. It’s the counting of our Blessings. It’s the turning a negative thought into a positive thought. For most people, it’s a paradigm shift from the way we view the world.
Recently, a friend and I were discussing the topic of money. This is a difficult topic when you are feeling a lack of money. As we discussed how expensive it is to raise kids, especially after having felt like you needed to provide them most of their desires, which translates into taking out loans on their behalf, I came to the conclusion, “it’s only money,” and she came to the conclusion that “money can be nearly as important as oxygen” because you need it to survive.
Two different perspectives. Both dead on. One stemming from a positive attitude and one stemming from a negative attitude. This is not meant to be judgmental. My friend and I have had this conversation before, and she works daily to be more positive in her thinking. And she does a good job of it in most occasions.
However, the Law of Attraction says that your attitude brings you exactly what you are expecting. So if your attitude is that you are always lacking money, you will continue to lack money. If your attitude sees money as very little influence into your happiness, then you will be happy with or without having your pockets sufficiently stuffed with cash.
On a political website that I visit, there are some posters who really have a hatred for poor people. What seems to bother them the most is that so many people, while poor or of the lower working middle class, seem to still be enjoying their life. even with lack of money, these people are laughing and joking and enjoying what they have, not focusing on what they don’t have. So that often translates, for the people bothered by that lack of concern for money, that poor people are happy because they are living off the government (hence, you and me) and they are laughing their way to the bank. The poor get called lazy (“they don’t need a job because they have it made”). What these posters don’t realize is that, for most poor people, especially those who have been poor for more than one family generation, they have learned that you don’t need to have money to be happy, or it’s true, they would be unhappy ALL THE TIME.
I think that we all need to shift our attitude toward money. It has become so many people’s number one concern, and it has replaced what should truly be important for us: good health and loving family and friends.
Maybe 2013 needs to be a year we focus on what we are truly grateful for. It’s time for a paradigm shift.
Namaste