When you ask for something and receive it, are you grateful? Or do you seek ways to complicate the situation with fear, doubt, or evaluation?
~Hilarion
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The last time you asked the universe for something and got it, were you grateful? Did you enjoy the resulting gift fully? Or did you allow your thoughts and beliefs to diminish your happiness? All too often, we are our own killjoys. We can take almost any wonderful coincidence or hoped-for event and second guess it until we have sucked all the beauty and wonder out, replacing them with anxiety and comparisons. We spoil our own fun.
It’s all too easy to do. When life has served us up what we’ve hoped for, we don’t know how to react because of a prevailing mindset of separation consciousness. We believe that we and all things and beings are separate from each other and from divinity, which leads us to view ourselves and life as essentially flawed. If we’re fundamentally unworthy, we can’t possibly deserve to get what we want, can we?
This insidious belief leads us to think and behave in ways that sabotage our enjoyment. We worry about whether we deserve what we’ve received. We’re scared that it may be taken away from us. We are waiting for the downside. We look around us to see if someone else has something better. We feel unable to simply enjoy and appreciate what we’ve been given. Our experience of life’s offering to us narrows, and what we once dreamed of starts to feel a bit mean and cheap.
Conversely, when we recognize the gift, are grateful, and allow ourselves to enjoy it unreservedly, we honor divine generosity. We feel good, our happiness radiates out to include others, and we set the stage for life serving us more of what we appreciate. Our inner response to the gift determines both how much we enjoy it and how likely we are to receive more in the future.
Let’s take a few minutes to connect with our inner divinity—our sharing within—to explore how our reception of a gift can affect our happiness. We’ll begin by taking a deep breath, letting it out slowly with a sigh, and then allowing our breathing to become soft and regular. We’ll also picture our sharing within as a golden ball of light in the center of our chest. As we inhale, the light grows solid and bright. As we exhale, the light spreads out through and around us. We will continue the breathing and visualization until calm and centered ease overtake us, signaling conscious connection with our sharing within.
We will ask our sharing within to show us one recent instance in which we received exactly what we asked for. Perhaps we needed money to pay an unexpected bill, and received some surprise income. Next, we will replay our reaction to the event asking our sharing within to help provide clarity. Did we express thankfulness in any way for the needed funds? Did we allow ourselves to feel happy or relieved? Did the experience give us increased confidence that the universe—aka the sharing—will continue to provide for our needs?
Or did we simply move on to worrying about other bills or potential cash shortfalls? Did we possibly wish that we had gotten a larger sum of money? Did we compare our temporary need to others’ wealth and feel resentful? Did we throw away our enjoyment of the windfall by giving in to fear and comparison?
Whatever our reaction was, we have a chance in this moment to feel grateful and happy about our gift. We’ll mentally replay the moment in which we became aware that the universe had given us what we requested. We’ll allow gratitude carried on golden light to spill out from our chest and illuminate the scene. We’ll see ourselves doing a happy dance and will put a big smile on our face and say aloud, “Thank you! I know and trust that I receive everything I need.” Doesn’t it feel good? Today and every day is a good day to be thankful. We are all truly blessed.
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Divinely unique and beautiful reader, what gift makes you feel grateful? Please share…