Gratitude: Don’t Beat Yourself Up About It

7 December, 2009 (09:03) | gratitude | By: Lanore

On days like this, when I’ve gotten the kiddo off to school and returned to the quiet house where the day stretches out before me, providing a welcoming place for me to indulge myself in hours of work I love, it’s ohhhh so easy to feel gratitude.

But what about on days when nothing seems to go right, when what seems like your worst fear has come to pass or is about to? At such times, even the thought of gratitude makes you sick and if someone advises you to find gratitude at such times, it’s positively infuriating.

Yet, it’s difficult to create what you want without the power of gratitude. This is because gratitude puts you in the vibration of joy and a mindset that you’ve already received and are already enjoying the blessings you’ve intended. Gratitude is so powerful because it is the emotion that most closely matches the vibration you radiate when you receive your creations in physical form.

But as powerful as gratitude is, it is only one element in the creative formula. The dark days, those times full of anger or sadness, as uncomfortable as they may be, are also required for successful creation. For it is those days that give you clarity about what you don’t want and provide you with a contrast that acts like a power booster for gratitude during brighter phases.

On the darkest of days, sometimes the only thought that can bring even a glimmer of gratitude or hope is that morning will eventually come. If you can, remind yourself of that when you are struggling with sadness or anger. If you can’t even muster the energy to summon gratitude that this too will pass, then simply feel the emotions you’re feeling. Stop struggling to resist them and just feel them—at least you won’t waste a bunch of energy resisting them or feeling guilty for having them in the first place. At some point, you’ll probably decide you’ve had enough of that experience and seek a window of light. Depending on the level of pain you’re in, the window may be narrow or wide, but when it comes, take advantage of it. Spend as much time in the light as you can and feel gratitude for it. Sometimes that’s the very best you can do. Remember, all of it is part of the process.

For myself, I find value in anger and yes, even sadness. These emotions are part of this tapestry of Creation we have chosen and prevent us from living monotone lives. Guilt and fear are another thing, though. Fear is a helpless emotion, certain to drain you of your power to create, while guilt is an almost useless emotion that does nothing but waste energy. I’ll write more on these in future posts.

But the most important thing I want to realize is that no one can tell you what emotions are appropriate for you. You are creating your own experience here—this is not about making your life look like everyone else’s or like some kind of fairy tale. This is about you learning to create and filling your tapestry with the colors of your own consciousness. That can be a pretty messy business and not for the ego, certainly not someone else’ ego, to judge.