Gratitude Atitude
Some say the best way to manifest your dreams and goals is to approach life from a place of gratitude. Gratitude not only for where you are now and how far you have come, but also gratitude for that which you desire - before, yes before, it even happens. They say the energy and frequency of gratitude is powerful in attracting abundance and so is a crucial key in manifesting the life you want. I have to say I am on board with gratitude for where we’re at, the skills and abilities we possess and for those we meet- but gratitude for things that are yet to come?….that’s a bit trickier!
Recently, in my community, wildfires lit up the skies and tore through neighbourhoods leaving behind paths of destruction and devastation for many. Though throughout the time of turmoil, I noticed an underlying theme on display, rising above the stress. That theme was gratitude. There was gratitude on smaller, individual scales as family and friends connected with each other, relieved to hear they were safe and offering support, a safe place to go or just a check in to ensure all was well. There was gratitude expressed from emergency response leaders and government officials when they announced that despite some scary unpredictable moments, everyone had in fact made it out safely. There were countless displays of gratitude to the firefighters and first responders from the community as a whole and equal gratitude back to the community for their support and encouragement - gratitude for gratitude.
This emergency event happened to involve various different communities and sectors coming together to support each other, share resources and work together. A situation that can often be wrought with disagreements from those in command and an unwillingness to sacrifice resources that may be needed shortly in their own community when a neighbouring one needed it now. I noticed this time it was different. Rather than simply serve their community, these leaders chose to pool their resources and personnel and take a unified approach to the incidents, not caring who “might” need something soon, but acknowledging who needed it now and knowing that the favour would be returned almost immediately. I have rarely seen what was on display at each and every press conference held by the fire and police chiefs and other emergency officials. As each took their turn to speak, always noted was their gratitude for each other, for those who came to assist and for the community. It was in times of expressing gratitude that emotions ran highest for these leaders. And it was an example of what can get done from a mindset of gratitude rather than fear or ego.
I am sure behind the scenes there were some times of frustration, disagreement and confusion but through that the gratitude still shone brightest and was likely a large contributor to the success in dealing with this dynamic emergency situation when mother nature was the one in charge. If that volume of work can be achieved from a mindset of gratitude, perhaps we better start considering leveraging that energy in our own lives each day. With gratitude brings respect, humility, empathy, and perspective. All key factors to success and working together in a coordinated effort.
Though destructive and devastating for so many, this event also provided a crash course on what is most important in our lives and a lesson on gratitude. As someone who tries to approach many areas of life from this mindset, I thought I had a pretty good handle on it. But I didn’t realize the magnitude of gratitude's power until I watched all of this unfold in my community on both large and small scales. Gratitude, it seems to me, has a lot of power to get things done and to mobilize not only our own resources but also those around us very quickly. I am starting to think that those manifestation gurus might just be onto something, we might surprise ourselves at how fast things can happen. So perhaps we could consider approaching our goals from a mindset of gratitude after all- rather than just reserve it for special occasions.