Perspectives on gratitude in difficult times
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We all know to be grateful, yet I also hear how that can be challenging in the midst of a rapidly changing world that seems like it is changing for the worse. So, today I am down in the Caribbean island of Anguilla enjoying some time with my family (and thankful for that!) when I had this spontaneous idea to share with you some of the perspectives I have been getting from my spiritual advisors that I have musing on and finding helpful. For what its worth here are some ideas I have been trying to apply, I share them in the hope they might be helpful for you in some ways as well.
1) Problems are often solutions for ‘bigger problems’, i.e. your current problem can be considered “warning opportunities” to prevent “bigger future problems.” The most helpful use of your efforts is to try to figure out what the “bigger problem” is and work directly to find solutions to it so that you can prevent that really big problem down the line. For example, if things are not going well with a particular client or your assistant, it may be a sign of a ‘bigger, more ongoing problem’, i.e., that you are not an influential communicator and don’t know how to manage people’s expectations, that you don’t know how to ‘read’ other people well enough to find the right fit with others, or that you don’t have systems set up which facilitate how to work with people and then others get annoyed because they don’t know how to work with you, etc etc. Any of these things could be considered more longstanding “problems” that if not “fixed” will lead you to fall short of the ultimate success you deserve over time.
For another example, if you are having a problem with debt, unless it was intentionally taken on in the service of financing a new business or incurred because of unexpected medical condition, etc. then that debt is indicative of a ‘bigger problem’ of how you are living your life. Your opportunity is to pay more attention to articulating your priorities, examine more your motives for spending money and seeing if there is an opportunity to ‘fill’ yourself in ways that will be ultimately more fulfilling, learn more about how to plan things ahead of time and delay gratification, etc etc– The idea there is that if money fell in your lap to pay off your debts like you probably pray for, you might be deprived of learning these lessons that will help you live a better life overall in the long term. “Be grateful for your problems” now, see them as valuable information and prevent the real and “bigger problem” down the line. 2) No matter how much we currently lack or have lost, we probably still have so much more than most people in the world. There are some things that are probably obvious to be grateful for, like the members of your family, your health (and if you have aspects of challenged health right now, then all the other aspects of your health that are functioning well and all the medical care you might be recieving to move you more towards health). There are also many things it may be easy to overlook, like having a home to live in, heat and lighting and furniture and appliances that work etc in that home, financial advisors to help you figure out future planning, access to information at any moment that can help you improve your life in whatever way you want, transportation to anywhere anytime to commune with people and have access to money making activities, freedoms and rights to be speak and pursue entrepreneurial efforts and worship and express yourself the way you deeply want to, etc etc. Really encourage yourself to always keep in mind this perspective, to be “thankful” for the nature of the current problems you do have and that you don’t have to experience even more profound problems as others might now.
3) We are experiencing a “shift” from goals of material wealth to those of “spiritual wealth”. I have been listening to my spiritual mentors who suggest that for the next few years we are undergoing a shift from an Age which was ruled by our intellect, and had primary goals of amassing material wealth. And that we are heading into a new Age which will be “ruled by the heart”, with our “intellect in the service of our hearts”. In the upcoming times, true wealth will be considered a connection to one’s sense of purpose, a connection to others, and reaping the collective benefits of actions in the service of a greater good. The implication: Anyone who cultivates these kinds of approaches to life will already be “ahead” of the curve and is poised for a lot of success in the new era.
Perspectives on gratitude in difficult times - To learn more about this author, visit Sharon Melnick's Website.
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