I recently made a small break-through in learning to be more appreciative and grounded in my everyday life.  The shift was so simple…I simply tried my very best to stop complaining or catch myself when I had thoughts in the vein of complaining. 

I was listening to Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday interview with Lynne Twist, who wrote the book The Soul of Money. One of the main messages I took from her was “what you appreciate appreciates”.  And reflecting back upon my own day to day life, I realized while I had moments of being extremely grateful, there were still moments throughout the day that I would be complaining inside. Whether it’d be about my job or some annoyance in my life, I definitely still had those negative thoughts that focused on what was lacking in my life at that moment.

And then I had this epiphany that this negative energy that I still held onto and was having inside was really the thing weighing me down and holding me back from attracting what I DO want in life. When my attention is on what’s lacking, then THAT’S what manifests for me. If my attention is on the problems I’m perceiving, or the longing for something else, then that’s a reflection of my energy inside and the state of my consciousness.

Conversely, if my attention is more focused on all the abundance in my life and all the light and goodness there is in my life, then that’s the stuff that appreciates and grows. I think the key here is not just reflecting on what you have, but that it is ENOUGH. The concept that what we have / who we are is SUFFICIENT.  It’s so freeing to think of that… that it’s OKAY to let go of the chase for more and more and for external validation.  And when we focus on that sufficiency, that abundance, it grows and expands and nourishes. Such a simple concept that makes total sense to me.  And from there, from that sense of sufficiency, there’s so much more freedom to be courageous, to live authentically because there’s nothing more to prove. We are enough.

And so, for me, one concrete thing I can start to do other than just trying to cultivate a sense of gratefulness, is to actively stop complaining and watch my thoughts and energy. It’s true we all need to vent sometimes about one thing or another, but what I really don’t want is that undercurrent of complaining or the sense of lack to be permeating throughout my day. What we appreciate appreciates!

“Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.” ― poem by Mary Jean Irion.