“A thankful person is thankful under all circumstances.”
Bahá’u’lláh (1817–1892) PERSIAN FOUNDER OF THE BAHÁ’Í FAITH
Whether it’s a relationship in turmoil, financial pressure, a lack of health, or problems in a job, negative situations arise because of a lack of gratitude over a long period of time. If we are not grateful for each thing in our lives, we are unintentionally taking those things for granted. Taking things for granted is a major cause of negativity, because when we take things for granted we are not giving thanks in return, and we stop the magic happening in our life. Just as giving thanks to others will always lead to our life magically increasing, so must taking things for granted always lead to our life decreasing.
Are you grateful for your health when it’s good? Or do you only notice your health when your body gets sick or hurts? Are you grateful for your job every day, or do you only value your job when you hear there will be cutbacks? Are you grateful for your pay or salary every single time you receive it, or do you take your pay or salary for granted? Are you grateful for your loved ones when everything is running smoothly, or do you only talk to others about your loved ones when there are problems? Are you grateful when your car is working well? Or do you only think of your car when it breaks down?
Are you grateful to be alive each day? Or do you take your life for granted?
Taking things for granted results in complaining, negative thoughts and words. So when you complain, by the law of attraction, you must bring more things into your life to complain about!
If you’re complaining about the weather, the traffic, your boss, your spouse, your family, a friend, a stranger, waiting in lines, bills, the economy, the cost of something, or the service of a company, you are not being grateful, and you’re pushing your dream life further away with every complaint.
Now you understand that complaining, negative thoughts and words, and taking things for granted stops the good things in your life. Now you understand that when something goes very wrong you have unintentionally not been grateful enough. It’s impossible to be negative when you’re grateful. It’s impossible to criticize and blame when you’re grateful. It’s impossible to feel sad or have any negative feeling when you’re grateful. And the best news is that if you have any negative situations in your life currently, it won’t take a long period of time to transform them with gratitude. The negative situations will disappear in a puff of smoke – just like magic!
First, as difficult as it may be, you have to look for things to be grateful for in the negative situation. No matter how bad things are, you can always find something to be grateful for, especially when you know that your gratitude will magically transform every negative circumstance. Walt Disney, who knew about the true magic of life, showed us how to do this in his movie Pollyanna.
Disney’s 1960 movie Pollyanna featured “The Glad Game,” which had a profound effect on me when I was a child. I played The Glad Game featured in the movie through my childhood and adolescence. To play The Glad Game, you look for as many things as you can to be glad about, especially in a negative situation. Finding things to be glad about (or finding things to be grateful for) in a negative situation make the solutions appear!
Walt Disney demonstrated the magical power of gratitude in Pollyanna, and thousands of years earlier Buddha demonstrated the way to use the same magical power when he said:
“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.”
Gautama Buddha (circa 563 BC–483 BC)FOUNDER OF BUDDHISM
Let Buddha’s words be your inspiration, and today take one problem or negative situation in your life that you most want to resolve, and look for ten things to be grateful for. I know it can be challenging to begin this practice, but Buddha is showing you the way to do it. Make a written list of ten things on your computer, or in your gratitude journal.
As an example, your problem might be that you’re out of work, and despite your best efforts, you’re still unemployed. To magically turn this situation around, you have to do a concentrated practice of gratitude on the situation. Here are some examples of what you might say:
*I am so grateful to have had more time for my family during this period.
*I’m grateful that my life is in a lot better order because of the spare time I’ve had.
*I am grateful that I’ve had a job most of my life, and that I am experienced.
*I am truly grateful that this is the first time I’ve been unemployed.
*I’m grateful that there are jobs out there, and more new jobs are appearing each day.
*I am grateful for all the things I’ve learned in applying for jobs and in going for interviews.
*I am grateful that I have my health and that I can work.
*I’m grateful for my family’s encouragement and support.
*I’m grateful for the rest I’ve had, because I needed it.
*I’m grateful that through losing my job, I’ve realized how much having a job means to me. I had never realized that until now.
As a result of the unemployed person’s gratitude, they will attract different circumstances, and their current situation must and will magically change. The power of gratitude is greater than any negative situation, and there are unlimited ways that the negative situation can change. All you have to do is practice gratitude and watch the magic take place!
Let’s take another example; a son whose relationship with his father is troubled. The son feels that no matter what he does it never seems to be good enough for his father.
*I am grateful that most of the relationships in my life are really good.
*I’m grateful to my father for working hard so that I could have the education that he didn’t get to have.
*I’m grateful to my father for supporting our family through my childhood, because I didn’t have a clue then how much hard work and money it took to keep our family going.
*I’m grateful to my father for taking me to basketball every Saturday when I was a child.
*I’m grateful that my father is not as tough on me these days as he used to be in the past.
*I’m grateful that my father cares so much about me, because he wouldn’t be tough if he didn’t care so much.
*I’m grateful that through my relationship with my father I have learned to have compassion and a greater understanding with my children.
*I’m grateful to my father for showing me how important encouragement is in raising happy, confident children.
*I’m really grateful when I get to laugh with my father. Some people never got to do that because they didn’t have a father. And for others, who have lost their father, they will never have the chance to laugh with their father again.
*I am so truly grateful that I have my father, because amid the tough times, there have been good times, and there will be more good times ahead with my father.
As a result of the son’s heartfelt feelings of gratitude for his father, he will change their relationship for the better. The son changed the way he thinks and feels about his father, which immediately changes what he attracts from his father. Even though the son was being grateful in his mind, at an energetic and quantum level, the son’s gratitude will have a magical effect on his relationship with his father. Provided he maintains his gratitude, by the law of attraction, the son must receive far better circumstances with his father, and their relationship must begin to improve immediately.
Remember, you can tell your gratitude is working by the way that you feel. You should feel a lot better about the situation after practicing gratitude. The first evidence of gratitude’s magical power working is your feelings lifting, so when you do feel better about it, you know the situation will improve and the solutions will appear. The answer to any negative situation you want to resolve is to focus concentrated gratitude on it until you feel better inside; then you will see the magic work its wonder in the outside world.
In making your written list, make sure you list each of the ten things you’re grateful for in the following way:
I am so grateful for .
Or, I am truly grateful for .
And finish the sentence with what you’re grateful for. You can also use Walt Disney’s way of using gratitude’s magical power if you find it easier:
I am so glad that .
And finish the sentence with what you’re glad about.
Once you’ve listed ten things you’re grateful for, finish the Magical Way Out of Negativity practice by writing:
Thank you, thank you, thank you, for the perfect resolution.
And just for today, see if you can get through one day without saying anything negative. It may be a challenge, but see if you can make it through one day. There is an important reason to do this, because most of us have no idea how much we speak negatively, but you’ll have an idea after watching your words for a day. Remember that negativity and complaint bring more of those things, and if you’re aware of what you’re saying you can stop and decide if you want the consequences of what you’re about to say. Here is a magic lifeline you can use if you notice yourself thinking or saying something negative. Stop immediately, and say:
But I have to say that I am really grateful for .
Finish the rest of the sentence with something – anything – that you’re grateful for. Take this magic lifeline with you, and grab a hold of it whenever you need it.
And if any little problem or situation appears in the future, remember to put out the embers with gratitude before it grows into a fire. At the same time you will ignite the magic in your life!
This content is credited to The Magic Book of Rhonda Byrne.
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