Abundance Lies Between Hope and Gratitude

By:  Denise Banks-Grasedyck

“After all that has happened, I don’t know how she keeps going. I would be devastated.”

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to get everything they want and yet they complain about their unhappiness and always seem to be in the middle of a “bad day”? And then there are those, who seem to hit challenge after challenge and yet, they continue to be optimistic and seem to have some secret source of joy that keeps them going through the roughest times?

There are two essential components of your mindset that virtually guarantee that every day turns out to be a good one; hope and gratitude.

There are other ways to express these two concepts, so choose one that most resonates with your personal preferences and beliefs. Here are some options: optimism and appreciation, positive expectation and non-judgmental acceptance.

Choose whatever speaks to you most and apply that to the simple exercise described below. Hope and gratitude are words that reflect my core values, so I have used this language to describe two simple steps that will help you uncover and embrace the abundance that is already in your life – and attract even more abundance to you.

[one-half-first]Definitions Hope is commonly defined as the feeling of wanting something to happen and thinking that it could happen; a feeling that something good will happen or be true; someone or something that may be able to provide help; someone or something that gives you a reason for hoping. Gratitude is commonly defined as a feeling of appreciation or thanks; the state of being grateful.[/one-half-first][one-half][/one-half]

Start your day with hope.

1. Give yourself a few minutes to really focus on what you want today to be like and how you want to show up in the world. This is important, because no matter what happens “to you”, you always have a choice in how you respond.
2. See it in your mind, allow yourself to think that it can happen.
3. Take a piece of paper and write at least one sentence that captures your hope for what will happen today. Write as if this hope is already in the process of being fulfilled; “Today, I am so happy that good things are happening for me. I am happy that … will be realized.” Carry this documented hope with you throughout the day. Read it at the top of every hour.
4. Set your expectation and immediately be thankful for this moment of hope. Suspend any disbelief and dwell in the thought that this good thing has ALREADY been prepared for you. It exists. It is already true and waiting for you.
5. Commit yourself to being thankful and giving gratitude at the end of the day – no matter what happens.
6. On the same paper that you have written your hope, now write the words, “I am grateful for this day. I am grateful for…” You will need this paper again at the end of your day.

End your day with gratitude.

1. Give yourself a few minutes to review your day and to give thanks to our Creator for all that has been and all that is.
2. Take out your paper and read aloud your sentences. Fill in the second sentence with at least three things for which you are grateful.  Of course, there are some days on which it may seem impossible to find something for which to be grateful. You can still do it. If nothing else, you can choose to be grateful for the relief of having reached the end of a really trying day.
3. Allow yourself to believe that there is a valuable lesson, a strengthening exercise in everything that we experience. Even if you are not quite convinced yet, suspend disbelief in favor of a more empowering position. When we choose to really examine our experiences and extract the empowering essence of life as it happens, then it all has value. When we do this, it becomes more natural and easier to give gratitude for the painful things that happen as well as for the happy, joyous occurrences.
4. You and every living thing was created to survive and to thrive. We are hard-wired to survive, so when thriving seems temporarily out of reach, be grateful that you have survived. You have a new chance to create the life you want, to be more of who you are meant to be.
5. When you give gratitude, you gain hope. And very soon the sun will rise and shine down upon you. And when you live with hope, you always have sunshine in your heart and a reason to give gratitude.

Living between hope and gratitude can seem like walking on a tight-rope over the rushing waterfall of life, especially in turbulent times. But once you make a conscious decision to live in this space, to practice hope and gratitude until it becomes an unbreakable habit, you begin to realize that it is a place of absolute empowerment.  You no longer fear falling; you know that your waterfall flows into a peaceful lagoon at the end of every day.

Start your day with hope. End your day with gratitude. That’s it. How does it feel knowing you are only two steps away from fully experiencing the joy and abundance that is already in your life?