Gratitude is all about the Attitude

With Thanksgiving upon us, GRATITUDE is a natural message to connect to this week. Realistically, there is always something we can choose to be unhappy about, a situation that could be better. Often we put quite a bit of our energy into “solving” or “resolving” these things and Gratitude can be hard to find.

However, we can make the choice to realize that we have blessings to be thankful for, that we have many things going NOT WRONG but very much RIGHT in our lives. Once we make that choice our attitude changes, the heaviness begins to lift. The “Attitude of Gratitude” has been discovered. “Gratitude is all about the Attitude” has become a mantra for me. I believe it is what makes the journey a joyous one.

I tell my students there is always more and always less on their Yoga mats. I invite them to take what is being offered that serves them and then to let go of what may not. Each of us can choose to focus on the more…what may not be available…..or we can let that go and focus on what does serve us.  I am reminded that just like on our mats, in our lives; there is always more… a longer hold in Bakasana, a more powerful Handstand, a nicer car, a bigger house…. and then there is what really serves us.

We all have those moments when we are in our own heads too much; when we are struggling to gain perspective; its at those times, of self-doubt or negativity, that we tend to focus on the more…what may seem out of reach or unfixable, and much less on what we have in front of us that is serving us. This week as we are being reminded of all of our blessings, practice your “Attitude for Gratitude”. As we know, it’s all a Practice.

I find myself reminding my family, my students and sometimes myself that it’s all about perspective.  There is always a blessing to find.  Use your “Attitude for Gratitude” and what you may find is JUST THAT.   Happy Thanksgiving. Namaste.