Gratitude is one of the most overlooked tools that we all have access to every day. Cultivating gratitude doesn’t cost any money and it certainly doesn’t take much time, but the benefits are enormous.
Did you know that just by being grateful you can shield yourself from negativity? There’s a study that shows that being grateful can instantly make you at least 25% happier, it rewires your brain, eliminates stress, strengthens your relationship with yourself and others and it increases your mental strength.
Not only that, but God wants to remind you that He wants you to focus on gratitude instead of focusing on the things that don’t seem to be working right in your life. He has promised us this; “And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more.” (D&C 78:19) How amazing that God has promised us that as we focus on gratitude, He will bless us with even more than what we have now. Do we trust Him to do that for ourselves as we choose to be more thankful?
The more we’re able to practice gratitude the more we will invite joy into our lives. And Practicing is the part that will really change our lives.
So, how can you make this a part of your daily life? You can start first thing in the morning by thanking God for a new opportunity of having a new day, for your gifts and blessings. You can also have a gratitude journal to help you notice the daily blessings. Throughout the day you can have moments to just breathe and be in that feeling of gratitude. Or you can make it a point during your family dinner to say one thing you’re each thankful for. All of these things will invite joy into your life and the life of your loved ones and it will also add the physical and spiritual benefits of being grateful.
So, If you’ve been feeling stressed and overwhelmed please take a moment to stop what you’re doing, to have a second to just close our eyes and to take a few deep breaths….Just taking a moment to be thankful for this simple ability to take in a breath is all you need to focus on.
With each breath that comes into our body we can experience deeper and deeper feelings of gratitude for all that we have and for all that we’ve received from God. We can allow those breaths to strengthen us and to renew and energize our body, our mind and our spirit. Remember, focus on your blessings. You’re in charge of controlling how you feel and what to focus on. Let it be for your benefit and for your inner peace.
The goal for this week is to be thankful DAILY ☀️when you start feeling stressed take a moment to count your blessings instead. Think about the simple gift of life. The fact that you’re able to be on this earth today, that you can breathe, be here and present with everything that surrounds you. The more that you focus on those things the more you’ll enjoy your day, the more stress will disappear and you’ll be able to feel peaceful and joyful and instead focus on the abundant blessings that God has given you and will continue to give you.
St. John 14: 18 says
I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
One of the ways in which we can feel the comfort of God is by expressing gratitude to Him and by being willing to trust in the promise that He will never leave us comfortless. Gratitude will allow us to open our eyes to see more of the blessings that God has given us and in return It will allow us to strengthen our relationship with Him. We will be able to see our trust in Him more and we’ll be able to believe in His will and goodness for our lives. This will allow us to stop fearing and instead have more faith in Him and in ourselves. And once we’re able to do that we can then help Him to reach out to others in gratitude to testify of His goodness and to be a light and a blessing to those around us.
The benefits of gratitude not only bring health and mental strength into our lives. They also add confidence in God and in ourselves that will allow us to have a way more joyful, enjoyable and peaceful life. We will be better able to help ourselves and others on our journey, and it will remind us daily of the love of God. The choice is yours, let gratitude be your blessing today.
CLASS IS CANCELED TODAY but we will be back next week ready to do something awesome for our Body, Mind and Spirit.
Our spiritual goal for this week is to keep a gratitude journal or to express our gratitude daily and see how we feel.
Our physical goal is to cut out the sugary drinks and to drink more water instead. We’ll also try to exercise at least 3 days this week.
TODAY, FOCUS ON THE THINGS THAT MATTER MOST, BE GRATEFUL AND TAKE IT ONE DAY AT A TIME. You’ve got this!
Love,
Lili
