dex
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2003
- Messages
- 5,105
Living In The State of Gratitude and Abundance
I have been RE for about 5+ months now (it seems much much longer, in a good way) and I have been thinking about “living in the state of gratitude and abundance”. During my travels out west I would often stop in mid step and take in how great a place I was in that moment. The air, sky, clouds, mountains, trees and ground beneath my feet all were beautiful at that moment. This also applied to the people I would meet. I was able to be there and appreciate them what they allowed me to see of them. And the more I allowed that appreciation to happen to me the more often it occurred. Now I sense feeling of gratitude and abundance all around me and I try to nurture it in my life. Also and I come to expect it the more it happens wherever I go be it Walmart or just out for a walk.
Have I changed from a pessimist to an optimist? I don’t think so. It is more of a change in focus. And in a way I mean that literally. I choose to focus on things and people that inspire to improve and challenge me to be who and what I want to be. I try to avoid people and things that “bring me down”.
I read the book “You Will See It When You Believe It” By W. Dyer and understood the concept but I did not experience it personally at the time. I am guessing that some of my interactions were based on fear: What is lurking around that corner that can hurt me? What does that person want from me?
It may be that the working life contributed to my blindness towards gratitude and abundance. Work is not often about the abundance of life but of the scarcity and fear inherent in it. I felt more feelings of doubt and fear before I retired than I do now.
Now that I experienced this gratitude and abundance it is something I definitely want to cultivate in my life and I think I know the signs when I am deviating from its path. The warning sign is that fear steals the enjoyment of the moment and positive excitement for the future.
“A leaf fluttered in through the window this morning, as if supported by the rays of the sun, a bird settled on the fire escape, joy in the task of coffee, joy accompanied me as I walked.”
Anais Nin
I have been RE for about 5+ months now (it seems much much longer, in a good way) and I have been thinking about “living in the state of gratitude and abundance”. During my travels out west I would often stop in mid step and take in how great a place I was in that moment. The air, sky, clouds, mountains, trees and ground beneath my feet all were beautiful at that moment. This also applied to the people I would meet. I was able to be there and appreciate them what they allowed me to see of them. And the more I allowed that appreciation to happen to me the more often it occurred. Now I sense feeling of gratitude and abundance all around me and I try to nurture it in my life. Also and I come to expect it the more it happens wherever I go be it Walmart or just out for a walk.
Have I changed from a pessimist to an optimist? I don’t think so. It is more of a change in focus. And in a way I mean that literally. I choose to focus on things and people that inspire to improve and challenge me to be who and what I want to be. I try to avoid people and things that “bring me down”.
I read the book “You Will See It When You Believe It” By W. Dyer and understood the concept but I did not experience it personally at the time. I am guessing that some of my interactions were based on fear: What is lurking around that corner that can hurt me? What does that person want from me?
It may be that the working life contributed to my blindness towards gratitude and abundance. Work is not often about the abundance of life but of the scarcity and fear inherent in it. I felt more feelings of doubt and fear before I retired than I do now.
Now that I experienced this gratitude and abundance it is something I definitely want to cultivate in my life and I think I know the signs when I am deviating from its path. The warning sign is that fear steals the enjoyment of the moment and positive excitement for the future.
“A leaf fluttered in through the window this morning, as if supported by the rays of the sun, a bird settled on the fire escape, joy in the task of coffee, joy accompanied me as I walked.”
Anais Nin