I recently attended a family funeral service and once again was so touched by the stories that are shared during this poignant and reflective time.  I have often come away from a service thinking that there was so much about the person that I didn’t know.  We are all so rich with life experience, so unique in our way of being and we touch others in our life in many different ways. One of the powerful messages that always surfaces is a sense of gratitude for the interactions we have had with the person being honoured. It is a real gift when we have had the opportunity to share our heartfelt feelings with them before they pass as it allows for more peace.  It sometimes gets phrased that there is no business left undone.

I found myself reflecting once more on the power of gratitude in our lives and specifically of acknowledging the gifts we receive from others in our lives.  There are special holidays throughout the year that remind us to think about those that make a difference for us such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, birthdays, anniversaries and we just had a significant one with Thanksgiving!  Our family has often gathered for the Thanksgiving meal and shared around the table something that we are thankful for in our lives.  Some participants may roll their eyes and wish this part of the meal would just pass by however I am quite certain that once the circle of sharing is complete, there is a different vibration opened up around the table.  Our heart centre which I spoke of in 2 previous blogs; The Intelligence of the Heart, and The Intelligence of the Heart – Part 2, has been activated and the strength of that loving signal expands and brings more light and true happiness into the room.

So the question I asked myself was; if this feeling of gratitude has such a positive influence for both myself and others that I send it out to, how can I incorporate more acts of gratitude into my day?  I got all excited as the creative thoughts started to pop into my awareness so I grabbed a piece of paper and started jotting the ideas down. What I am saying is it was not a difficult task to take on, and even the experience of creating the list brought my “feeling good” quotient right up.

I have written in a gratitude journal at night before bed in the past and for sure had a positive experience from that; however the fact that I was writing a list of possible action ideas, gave it more impact for me.  Not only do I receive the boost of happiness thinking about it, I can also continue the feeling as I carry out some of my thoughts and increase the Ripple Effect! (this brings to mind the power of two Canadians Craig and Marc Keilburger.  There is so much research done on the power of gratitude in our lives so I am sure you each have your own nugget of wisdom to share on the topic.  I invite you to do just that and let’s see how we can add to the positive ripple effect in our lives!

Let me leave you with one more link that you may enjoy.  It is a song that was featured in “Wicked” entitled “For Good”, turn up your speakers and allow yourself to feel the gratitude for others in your life! Thanks to all those who have made a difference for me.

I’d love your feedback. Don’t forget to leave a link back to your own blog too, via the commentluv feature here on the site!

Till next time.

Karen