Day 123: I thank my Father for His gifts to me.

I thank my Father for His gifts to me.

Today the Course instructs us to meditate on gratitude - gratitude for being alive, gratitude for our wholeness, gratitude for our peace, our joy, and our kinship with one another and with God.

Gratitude plays such an important role in our ability to receive what it is we long for.  We start by giving thanks for what we already have.  It is when we begin to do this that we realize how lucky we are.  Be grateful that you have the eyes to read the words written here.  Be grateful that your heart is beating, that your lungs are filling with air.  Be grateful for your friends and family, whomever and wherever they may be.  Be grateful that you can surf the web and connect with billions of different people across the globe with a simple keystroke or a click of a mouse.  And we're only at the tip of the iceberg...  You have so much to be grateful for already.  Count your blessings, and you'll begin to know how much your Father in Heaven loves you.

When we are grateful for what we have, we reside in a place of joy.  It is in such a state that we are aligned with God, and therefore open to receiving more of what makes us happy.  This is why today's lesson is so important.

One of my rituals before going to bed each night is to write down just one thing that happened during the day, something for which I am grateful.  This simple task is easy enough for everyone to do, and by the end of the year you'll have 365 reasons to be grateful (among the endless list of blessings which are forever yours by God's grace).

Do not underestimate the power of gratitude.  Without it, how could we appreciate all that has been given us?  Without it, our joy is incomplete.  Giving thanks is the sure way to receive more of that which we are thankful.  Remember that giving and receiving are one in truth (see Day 108).

Gratitude is also a method by which we may forgive.  If we blessed every person who hurt us, betrayed us or just simply pissed us off - if we gave thanks for their presence by seeing the circumstance they presented as a learning tool for our own soul growth - we would find it easier to forgive.

On this day let us spend just a few quiet minutes making a mental list of everything we have to be grateful for.  Whatever those things may be, let us look even deeper at how they make us feel - loving, joyful, peaceful.  These are the gifts from God.  These gems of Love, Joy and Peace are the eternal treasures our Father has passed on to us.  They are ours forever, however they may manifest in our lives.  So let us give gratitude today for all that we possess.  What more could we want?  We already have all that we need.

Until tomorrow,
Journeyman