Gratitude

This is a continuation of my post on anxiety. Gratitude or syukur is a cure for anxiety.People who are anxious tend to focus on the negative and on what they are having problems with but seldom see what they already have and what they are not suffering from.
Now imagine being upset over the soaring price of vegetable and the lack of hot water from my solar heater because of the last few days being extra cloudy rainy and cold when the people in Pakistan who had just suffered an earthquake are going through a freezing winter! When you focus on what you have , praise the Lord! You stop feeling anxious and stop grousing and stop thinking , poor me...

When I am intent on writing something about something I think people collaborate with me to help me out so here is a little help from Phillip Humbert's newletter:

The Extraordinary Power of Gratitude

Over the years, one of the great mysteries I've observed is the relationship between gratitude and power.

Far too often, we link gratitude with a sense of relief or weakness and I think that's a mistake. In my opinion, gratitude is one of the great sources of energy, creativity and power known to man, and unlike other energy forms, it's free and available whenever we choose to access it.

Whenever I work with top performers, one of the things I notice is their sense of appreciation, humility, and gratitude. Now, obviously, we have all seen people who are rich or powerful and do not appear to be grateful.

I remember seeing a famous actor in a Palm Springs country club being rude to an employee. For all his fame and good looks, something seemed "off" about that brief interaction and it didn't surprise me when, a few months later, his career collapsed in an arrest, divorce and substance abuse problems. As a wise man once said, "Pride goeth before a fall."

On the other hand, one of the marks of true success is a sense of perspective. Truly successful people often remember their humble beginnings, or appreciate that for all their wealth or power, they depend on the skills of other people to run their operations. They are able to appreciate the "little things" and understand that life is short and full of unexpected twists and turns.

One of the things that has surprised me about Donald Trump's show, "The Apprentice" is the consistently nice things the contestants have had to say about Mr Trump. While he often seems angry or arrogant on television, the interviews I've seen suggest that is not the whole picture. In person, I understand he treats people well, has a good sense of humor and is very generous.

Julia Roberts, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks and President Jimmy Carter come to mind as examples of famous people who appear, at least when I've seen them interviewed, to be "ordinary people." They understand the power of gratitude.

Here's the thing. There are basically three ways to face life, and our "stance" makes all the difference.

We can face life with arrogance, believing that we are the center of the universe. Usually, life teaches us otherwise.

Or, we can face life with a sense of fear and powerlessness. Obviously, this stance inhibits action and gets little or nothing done.

Finally, we can come at life from a stance of gratitude and wonder. Curiosity may have "killed the cat" but it also invented the light bulb, airplanes and tennis balls. Curiosity and creativity, it seems to me, come from a fundamental stance of joy, gratitude, thanksgiving and excitement about life.

Arrogance and fear stifle creativity. If we "know it all" there's nothing to learn and we never grow. If we live in fear, life is about hunkering down and protecting ourselves, and we never adventure out. Only gratitude can stimulate growth, curiosity and joy.

This week, Americans celebrate our Thanksgiving holiday, and it is not only a favorite holiday, but one of tremendous significance. It reminds us that we are a fortunate, blessed, and extremely POWERFUL people not because of our army or navy, but because of our gratitude. Thanksgiving, joy, power, adventure, even love itself are the source of true success in life. Thanksgiving lets us take chances. It energizes and liberates us.

This week, practice the "attitude of gratitude" and see what you can unleash.