Gratitude Works
by Matt O'Grady
As the holidays approached, I found my stress level increasing with each day that came and went. I also found that as my stress level increased my criticism of life, issues and people. The things I read about in the news, the war in Iraq, media issues here on LI that I wish were different. I found myself focusing more on the things I didn’t like than things I did like. Around the same time, I was asked to supply a blog entry for canvasli.com, so in my mind all I could think of was what I didn’t like, what made me frustrated and what I wanted to be different.
My intuition told me not to write it so I procrastinated writing the entry, all the while with this nagging feeling that I just didn’t have the right topic yet. While contemplating the different subjects I could choose to focus on, I heard a small quiet voice: “Be in Praise of Praise.” This was a quote I have heard from a wise old man and mentor of mine many, many times. When I first heard him utter that saying, I had no real idea what he was talking about but it came from a man who has dedicated his life to personal introspection, and when he says something, I have learned to listen.
Over time it worked its way deep into my being. I was reminded of it many months ago when my business partner and publisher of canvas said: “Matt, I am not sure how you used to do things, but when reviewing a process, I like to focus on what went well first and then move on to the areas that can be improved.” It hit me hard and I knew in that moment, that he was someone whom I could work with and trust. He was focused on the good first and foremost. I was very impressed all those months ago, and even happier to adopt the same practice and to see that it wasn’t a one time experience; Tom invokes that standard for every review process of the business. So as I contemplated my subject dilemma, and with it being Christmas Eve, and the with the New Year around the corner, I asked myself: Do I want to be critical of others during the holidays? And do I want this to be how I start my New Year? The answer was a definite: No! I want to be Grateful, and I want to be I praise of praise.
Yoga, meditation and exercising every morning usually keeps me feeling energized and ready for the day. However, it only helped so much to stave off the dark moods of those dark early mornings. It was actually another practice that helped bring me back into balance as the winter solstice drew closer. As each dark morning was a challenge for me to dig down deep inside and literally force my self to smile and start the practice of being grateful. I knew that after December 21, the days would be become brighter, that it would get just a little bit easier to get up at 5:30 a.m. and go outside for my morning walk.
This was practicing gratitude and being in praise of praise. Being thankful that I am alive, that I am breathing. Being thankful for the simple things in life, like the trees, the birds, the rain, fresh water to drink, healthy delicious food to eat. For the wonderfully aromatic smells of the earth after a heavy rain, the bubbling giggle of child. That, I don’t live in a war zone, that I am able to walk, talk, think, care, wish, and pray. I am so thankful for all that has been given to me, what I have worked hard for, and what I have been able to give. I am thankful for the people in my life that support me and are loving, caring human beings. I would chant these mantras as I would walk or jog, and the feeling that would be built up inside my chest as I repeated these mantras was/is Absolutely Magnificent. The energy that was created was self-sustaining, it was like a force field of joy and appreciation for life. As things came up throughout my day I was able to meet them with more patience, more compassion, and more clarity. Repeating this cycle day after day, every morning for weeks was very helpful to my peace of mind.
Because of this, I wanted my first blog on the canvas site to be something that felt good. Something I am just simply happy about–like being alive. I am writing this on Christmas Eve, and as I move closer to the new year, my aim is to live more in alignment with and acknowledge more often what is good in my life, rather than to note so quickly what is wrong, or what I can criticize.
Like all human beings, I know I have the need to analyze and regroup and strive to do more and be more, but it’s also been a good practice for me to balance that out with working to just be, and be grateful.
11 comments
I just read Matt O’s blog. Perfect timing for me, I’ve been up since 3am thinking, thinking, thinking. The “dark hrs” as he describes it. Holidays, work, money, family, all pulling at me in different directions. I hate everyone right now.
All I can say is, thanks for being here this morning, his blog has helped me snap out of it, and adjust my attitude to be more positive today instead of continuing on the roller coaster of hating and blaming everyone else as I thought about it all more and more.
Thanks for a better today, I may be back tomorrow AM for a second dose! Positive thinking will help me handle all this, and you just reminded me of that.
I’ve heard it said that gratitude is a sure-fire way to open up the heart. It’s always proved true for me. Thanks for the reminder! Have a Good 2007!!!
Oh Gratitude! I had the lucky experience of attending a mass once that was done by the Jesuit priest Father Daniel Berrigan at his apartment in NYC. Many have called Father Berrigan a “radical priest” as he has been arrested many many times and speaks his mind on things like war and discrimination. His quiet respect and humility really made me see where real power comes from. One thing I remember him saying is that having gratitude is what truly brings grace. The words and meaning are interwined. So - Here’s to Gratitude - may we all have it and spread some grace around…
Thank you for these wise words to start a new year. You remind me of something Julia Butterfly once said. Though she was speaking about our current president, whatever one’s politics it could be applied to many things. “Don’t waste your time criticizing Bush. That takes no creativity. Start creating the world you want to live in. Cast your vision in terms of the positives you want to build towards.” (or something like that…)
Good stuff - her thoughts and yours. Thanks.
I’m grateful for the chance to read the voice of an old friend. Write more, Matthew.
Thank you for this excellent and honest reminder about the power of gratitude. It is one of our most powerful tools for clearing our perception and elevating our energy so that we can fully enjoy our lives while having more to give to the world and loved ones. Looking forward to more thoughts from you!
Thanks so much to all who have responded to this thread. In truth, I wasnt sure how it would be received, but it feels great to know that there are people out there who believe something similar about the power of gratitude. I was feeling grateful yesterday thinking about Martin Luther King, Jr. on his holiday. I really had an inner turning point when I started reading his writing and speeches, especially once I started to understand the societal and cultural situations in which he was living. He was a brave, and charismatic leader and I pray that his teachings and his inspiration live in the hearts of men and women for many generations to come. I leave you with 2 quotes that I find appropriate to this thread:
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love, 1963
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.” -Cicero
The holidays do make it easy to see a lot of negative and I am a particularly pessimistic person- nice to read a positive reminder of why we should be happy to be breathing, eating, laughing, loving and living.
I too have begun this change in my life by separating myself from people and places that run on constant negatives. It is not easy. There are so many people I must interact with daily that radiate wrong, bad, worse, unhappy and unpleasant. My practice is to remind myself that their cycle of negativity is a choice, their choice, and I do not have to participate. I do not have to engage in this cycle. When heading in these situations I repeat my own mantra, “I love my life” which reminds me of all that I have and all that I am grateful for in my life. I hope we can all find a way to get grateful everyday and put an end to so much negativity in the world.
I do not intend to be as well written or articulate as Matt O’Grady was in his original piece for this blog, but I would like to simply add a thought that came to me while reading. Read on, if you like:
Correcting writing mistakes is one of the jobs of the classroom teacher. These professionals used to be issued red pens and given green lights to banish any errors from the pages of any and all writers. Well, as a classroom teacher myself, I certainly should have wanted to correct Matt’s use of capital letters to begin words found in the middle of sentences. However, as a Person, I loved that he did so throughout his piece. By making a word like Praise seem like a proper noun, it was finally given its proper credit. Perhaps if we all acted more like real people than titles or professions, we would all be able to let go the need to correct all of life’s imperfections and enjoy all of it’s different facets. And while we’re at it, maybe we could extend that same courtesy to each other. That’d be Absolutely Magnificent,too, if you ask me.
Dear Matt,
I found your piece to be profound and inspiring. Life is really very simple at its core - cultivate an “attitude of gratitude” and the law of attraction will automatically bring more experiences, people, events, etc. that reflect that state of being. Most of us, because we were trained to do so, do life backwards. We wait until something that we can feel good about shows up to feel grateful, i.e. “I’ll feel good when I meet my soul mate, get the money I want, land that great job, when Bush is impeached, when the earth is cleaned up, when I’m treated with respect” and on and on and on.
It’s not that those things WON’T feel good (if we desire them), they will - but the focus on the absence of them until they arrive holds the thinker of those thoughts mainly in the place of NOT experiencing the very things that they desire. As Matt so lucidly
explained we are constantly surrounded by a multitude of reasons to feel appreciation - many of which we simply ignore or take for granted.
It’s such an exciting time right now as the essence of what Matt and I are sharing is coming to the forefront of the mass consciousness through books and movies like “Ask and It’s Given” by Esther Hicks (chaneling Abraham), “The Secret”, “What The Bleep Do We Know ” and “Down The Rabbit Hole” and many others. The essence of all these are the same - we are the creators of our own experience. The Law of Attraction is the mechanism by which the content of our vibrations (the sum of of thoughts, feelings and beliefs) become manifest in the physical universe. The ironic thing about calling this a “secret” is that it’s no secret at all - we all at some level of our consciousness understand this basic truth - you reap what you sow.
I love the wisdom Matt’s partner shared when he said he likes to start with what’s working and go from there. We’ve been so trained to attack problems, especially in the business and political arenas that our minds are filled with negative thoughts, which only perpetuate the problems and actually make them bigger.
Thanks Matt for sharing your thoughts and creating this wonderful space for me to feel my appreciation!
Phil Giuliano
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