Maintaining love and gratitude in an unthankful world can be challenging. What do you want for your life, and what do you want for the lives of your children? Universally, the answer is the same: “happiness.”
Finding and expanding happiness is part of our Divine purpose as a human being. The brighter and more loving we are, the more God can experience and share our life with us and through us. This is the seeker's way - why we search it out and wish to expand and maintain it when we find it. This goes well beyond the comfort we may feel from any material things we own, and it can be expressed and received in many ways. There are things we can do every day to attain and maintain this deeper feeling of joy. And love and gratitude are crucial parts to sustaining it.
People are Being Heroes Worldwide
For one thing, remember that you are not alone in your desire to be happy and that most everyone desires the same thing, even though you may not be outwardly seeing it. For example, although acts of love and gratitude occur millions of times every moment throughout the world, these are not the ones that gain the attention of the media. A rare segment at the end of a newscast or the back of a newspaper may mention an act of heroism, but in reality, they are not rare at all. Huge difficulties are being successfully surmounted every day, by people who choose to follow through on the choice of love over fear. Take the time to look for these stories, they can be found everywhere, on the Internet, magazines, by word of mouth. Perhaps even keep an archive so that you can be encouraged and reminded of all the love in the world, and that the majority of the heart of humanity is good. Although many of these expressions of love and gratitude are often hidden, in reality, their candles brightly illuminate the world.
We hold a door open, and a stranger says, “thank you” and we smile. We send a card, text or an email showing our gratitude for another, and we make both of our hearts glad. In that universal expression of happiness, the smile shows the love we are feeling in our heart, indeed, in our soul. Do you feel the satisfaction and warmth inside? That is the knowing that you are doing what you should be doing. You are feeling that God-connection that you were created with, the spark of Divine light flickering within. “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.” (1 John 4:16) How many times in your own life have you taken that extra step, or been thankful to another for the step they have taken? You may not have run into a burning building or been pulled from one, but how many struggles felt like you were doing exactly that? Even by giving or receiving a hug or word of encouragement, very real fires can be put out and lives can change for the better, if the choice of that opportunity is taken. And it IS a choice, a personal one that can be made several times a day!
Our Two Choices - Love or Fear
In reality, our happiness depends on making only two choices in life: love or fear. The choice of love will always move us forward, whereas fear stagnates and freezes us. This is also why we can look at any place of immobilization in our life and know better choices can be made there. We are created as sparks off the Divine flame. So, fear and stagnation are not in our comfort zone and will continue to create feelings of sadness, incompleteness and despair; but as we continue to choose love, that light expands and grows into a bright bonfire of joy and happiness within. Although it may not always be easy to show love and gratitude in our daily lives, when we do, there is always a beautiful ripple effect that occurs from it, whether we visually see it at that time or not. As an additional bonus, our spirit knows we are doing what we came here to do, and as this inner happiness expands, we feel more comfortable, peaceful and confident. And since our spirit resides within our physical body, besides the spiritual and emotional benefits we receive, there are very tangible health benefits as well. No matter what is going on externally or what other people's opinions are, we find ourselves at peace and content.
Positive physical changes occur when love and gratitude is expressed. Think of singing and how good it feels - of talking to your plants and they prosper - of placing inspiring sayings and pictures around your house. Expressing love changes things around us, it balances and purifies. This is also a good reminder to say a prayer or blessing of thanks over our food and water before we eat it, and to do a blessing on any medications or supplements to only help and not harm us. Isn’t it interesting to see the bigger picture of why mankind in so many cultures and lands have felt compelled to do blessings or ceremonies before meals for thousands of years? The spirit within us knows and compels us, although analytically we may not know the science behind it until later. “We love because he first loved us.” (John 4:19) Love truly transforms all things!
Expressing Love and Gratitude Brings Joy
Choosing to take the extra steps to show love and gratitude in what only looks to be an unthankful world is a main key to attaining joy. And although there are different holidays which can be good reminders to express this, daily transformations will occur when we do this on a regular basis. Keeping a journal or archive of positive stories reminds and encourages us to be an expression of love ourselves and that the over-all heart of mankind is good. Directing our thoughts on what we have, not on what we do not, refocuses our priorities in a positive way.
Our choosing of love over fear continues the awareness, brightening and expanding of our true Divine nature. This includes being consistent in offering blessings for what we receive and give, including our food and water. Expressing love and gratitude satisfies our deep sense of purpose, which transforms not only our environment, but our spiritual, emotional and physical health as well. So, no matter what is perceived outwardly, true happiness can be sustained by the personal choice of love, and with that we can choose to be grateful every day, which in itself is something of which we can be truly thankful. END 2008 (C) Tiffany Snow
About the Author: "I'm Blessed Tiffany and I have information for you!" Tiffany Snow experienced the wounds of the Holy Stigmata 2005-2009 and three NDEs. Modern Christian Mystic, Miracle Healer, Spiritual Teacher. She shares answers from God that humanity is currently asking, to help each of us remember who we are, and who He is too. Blessed Tiffany and her husband Fr. Billy Clark are not financially supported by any church or organization. This allows them to speak freely without restriction about everything God has shared for ALL of His children, no matter where they are on their path. Free Distant Healing Prayer, Articles and Videos with unique information for our times. God Info. | www.BlessedTiffanySnow.com
