Thanksgiving: the five virtues of Gratitude: Appreciation

Appreciating the gifts of life

The second virtue of Gratitude is your capacity and choice to APPRECIATE the gifts of life.

When you appreciate the time, love, attention, care, talent and intention in the acts and events that surround you, as well as the effect or impact of these acts in your daily encounters, your heart is filled with gratitude and you experience the goodness in people and the many miracles of life. This enables you to ACTIVATE the power of Gratitude.

NOTE: In the next Daily Inspirational Words for this week, I will reveal the other virtues, one a day. Here’s the first one: Recognition.

Remember the walk down a street in an ordinary neighborhood? Let’s walk down that street again.

• As you walk past the beautiful red, rose and white roses in the garden you inhale their fragrance. Their calming effect instantly reaches your nerves and you appreciate the healing properties of roses and how they are a miracle of Divine Creation.
  
  
• You look at the brightly painted pink stucco house among all the brown brick houses and you appreciate the uniqueness of the inhabitants of that house. This empowers you to appreciate your uniqueness today.
  
  
• You then walk past the grandmother swinging in the rocking chair of her porch, knitting socks for her tiny dog while she sings of times long gone. Not only do you remember your own grandma, but you appreciate that old age can bring peace and that even long after your children are grown and have left, you can still be productive and find ways to love and care for other creatures.
  
  
• As you walk past the restaurant where the dog-loving owner has put out a large bowl for the dogs, you appreciate that profit does not have to mean exploitation or opportunism. Quite the contrary, this person is enriching the neighborhood and attracting more clients. They are also contributing to the causes they love.
  
  
• As you pass the food shop and see the glowing energy of the organic vegetables, you are filled with appreciation for the ways in which Earth Mother nurtures and cares for us.
  
  
• As you cross the street, the semaphores count downs to let you know how long you have. You appreciate this new design, an improvement from old semaphores. You appreciate that the people who did this cared for children and old people or mothers with carriages that can be endangered if they cross the street when the red  light is about to change. You experience the care that went into this act, and you feel the Basic Goodness in humans.
  
  
• Finally, you pass the school yard and your heart leaps with joy when you hear to the laughter of the children playing and singing. Your children come into your mind, and you feel blessed to have them in your life.
  
  

Understand that APPRECIATION allows you to experience the goodness and meaning of life and therefore, brings the gifts and miracles into perspective.

APPRECIATION enriches your experience.

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To find out about the next virtues of gratitude, you may want to subscribe to my Daily Inspirational Words.

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