"If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is -Thank You- it will be enough."
Meister Eckhart
Gratitude is acknowledgment and recognition of the internal and external sources of goodness in our lives. Prayer, on the other hand, is a form of communication with a higher power, deity, or spiritual entity. For the last 25 years, gratitude journaling has been my prayer, my highest-level daily ritual that sets the tone for the day.
Gratitude journaling is a sacred space that I call my secret closet. In it, I acknowledge a higher power that I interchangeably refer to as God, the Universe, Spirit, Lord, and Divine Energy. What I call it is not as important as my acknowledgment of something greater than myself that keeps the world turning. I believe that this divine energy is everywhere present.
In good times and bad, my gratitude journal is where I turn on the light of God within me and allow that light to shine through me. It’s where I thank my higher power for my blessings and lessons, something I have termed “blessons.”
It’s where I recognize my strengths and invite my higher power to express itself fully through me. It’s also where I identify any barriers that prevent my higher power from fully expressing itself through me and discover ways to remove those barriers.
In my journal, I pour out my hopes and dreams and discover how to put wings on my dreams. It’s also where I confront my fears and learn to make fear my friend, not a foe.
Gratitude journaling introduced me to a higher level of consciousness by helping me to be more mindful, appreciative, and interconnected with the beauty of the world around me and the innate goodness of others.
It’s where I cultivate a sense of abundance and attract more positive energy into my life. I receive the abundance that the universe offers and use my share of abundance to live a prosperous, joyful, and peaceful life. It also teaches me to let my light shine by sharing my gifts with others.
As I journal, I am reminded of two important things:
1) Even in what is perceived as the worst situation, there is a blesson. When a stroke robbed my daughter of her independence and threw me into the role of caregiver, gratitude, and prayer left us with blessons that neither of us would have ever imagined, and blessons continue to unfold.
2) 2) I already have everything I need to get through difficult times, so there is no need to beg, bargain, and plead with God. For me, that is not what prayer is about. The wiser thing to do is to stay tuned in to divine energy, let go of control, and trust in the wisdom and support of something greater than yourself, which will lead to a deeper understanding of your path.
Gratitude keeps me tuned-in. It teaches me how to pray. It teaches me that:
Praying Rightly Always Yields Exceptional Results. And that is enough!
If you want to learn more about the power of gratitude, contact me at smallchange@myrtlerussell.com.
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