Express gratitude before you get out of bed
When you wake up in the morning, what is your first thought?
According to surveys, most people’s first thought is either about money or work. They are the top two subjects that pop into our brains when the sun comes up and sneaks under our eyelids.
So, the fresh new day is marred before it has even begun by a thought like, ‘I need more money!’ or, ‘Oh, no, another day of facing problems at work!’
I had the worried-about-money-thought first thing for years. With five kids, a ravenous Rhodesian Ridgeback, a mortgage, a student husband, a part-time job, an old van with multiple internal troubles as well as a sliding door that had a habit of falling right off its hinges onto the ground, money was stretched so thin it could be seen through.
But having that first worried thought that I needed more money, every morning for all those years, didn’t help at all. It didn’t make money materialise and flutter down onto the faded bed cover. It just weighed me down mentally and physically, making it even harder to get my feet from under the cover and onto the floor.
Worried thoughts breed other worried thoughts.
One worried thought is always followed by another until we tell ourselves to stop. And even then, they seem to slip in through a side door and before we know it, we’re off again on the speeding worry train, heading for yet another tunnel with no light at the end of it.
Gratitude in the Morning
Tonight, before you go to sleep, decide to have a non-worried thought first thing in the morning, instead of a worried one.
This may seem a difficult task to give yourself, so I’ll give you a hint that will make it easier.
Choose to think of a thought that expresses gratitude.
Express gratitude before you get out of your soft, warm, cosy bed.
Here are some examples to help you get started on this new, exciting, and rewarding regime.
‘I’m thankful for the pillow beneath my head.’
‘I feel grateful that Spring is here, and I’m alive to enjoy it.’
‘I’m glad to have a job to go to.’
‘I’m pleased there’s enough milk in the fridge for my porridge this morning.’
‘I feel gratitude towards my heart, for beating so consistently all night.’
These thoughts may seem trite but read them again, and you’ll notice that every moment of your life is packed with things you can be grateful for, but you usually don't notice. You choose to fill your days with worried thanklessness instead.
On page 146 of his book, Oneness With All Things, Eckhart Tolle wrote:
Acknowledging the good that is already in your life is the foundation for all abundance.
Our little thoughts can twist this to mean that if we’re thankful for what we do have, we’ll get more. But a possible subtle implication of this sentence is that when we start being thankful, we will become even more aware of all the things we already have.
Worried thoughts breed other worried thoughts.
Gratitude thoughts breed other gratitude thoughts.
Each of our lives is packed with abundance. The earth beneath us, the sky above, water flowing through both. Blood in our veins, breath in our lungs, muscles that move. A cup to hold coffee, a ring for a finger, a flower for a vase. And vice versa.
Add your own thought here: I am thankful for . . .
On Day One of Deepak Chopra’s online meditation series, ’21 Days of Abundance’, he gives this mantra:
“Today I observe all the abundance that surrounds me.”
Now, that’s a good first-morning thought!
Morning gratitude is the key to having an enlightening day.
Try it tomorrow and let me know, in the comments section, how it changes your day!
With love, Marlane
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