The power of gratitude

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order and confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow." —Melody Beattie

As the man told me the sad story of how life had been so unkind to him, I listened, not just to what he was saying but also to what he was not saying. The perspective he held of his life was indeed a negative one.

I didn't hear one affirmative word come out of his mouth. After about 30 minutes into our conversation, I stopped him and asked: "If you could visualize your life as a glass, would it be half empty . . . or half full?"

Without dropping a beat he replied, "Depends what's in the glass! If it is something bad, it is definitely more than half full, and, if it is something good, it's way below empty."

In my work with people I never cease to be amazed at how often they tend to focus on what they don't have in life rather than the incredible good they do have.

It isn't just folk wisdom to say we should focus on the good in our lives. It's an understanding of the spiritual dynamics of a universe that only knows how to increase that on which we focus our attention.

The universe doesn't know or care if our glass is half empty or half full— that is a determination we make.

However, an attitude of gratitude automatically brings with it a shift in consciousness which says, "I am open to receiving with a grateful heart." With that perspective, life has no alternative but to rush in and fill the glass with good.

I once heard it said that there are two kinds of gratitude: the kind we feel for the good we receive and the more subtle kind we feel for the good we give. When we can give of our good to others with a sense of sincere gratitude for having it to give, it changes the entire dynamic of the experience for everyone involved.

Simply put, gratitude changes our perspective on life. With Thanksgiving just completed and the December holidays fast approaching, and especially in these times of great challenge for so many people in our world, there could be no better opportunity to practice an attitude of gratitude, in our giving and receiving.

This is a good time for all of us to reflect on the good in our lives, regardless of how empty the glass may appear, and think about what St. Paul encouraged us to remember: "In all things, give thanks."

The truth is, if we look deeply enough we will find blessings even in things and events that on the surface we might tend to judge as negative.

In the process, notice your glass is getting fuller.

Dennis Merritt Jones is a local spiritual mentor, keynote speaker and author of the book "The Art of Being: 101 Ways to Practice Purpose in Your Life." He can be contacted at www.DennisMerrittJones.com.