Saving The World Through Gratitude

Some people underestimate the Power of Gratitude. Some people may think that it's not good enough to help the entire world because it is benefits and is a pleasure to Self. Just by holding on to your Happiness (through Gratitude), you helps others. You will be able to help others to see The Light (benefits/positive side of things) even in situations that seem to be "hopeless".

Imagine the energy of the planet is an Ocean, a collection of everyone's thoughts. Each thought is a colored drop of water. By adding a pure white drop of Gratitude/Acceptance, it spreads and helps the entire Ocean become a little brighter. Even if a person added a dark red drop of anger to the Ocean of the collection of thoughts of the planet, that red drop will become a little brighter like a beautiful pink and eventually it'll brighten into a white drop of pure Acceptance/Gratitude, with each white drop of Water added into that Ocean of Thoughts.

Your own Gratitude/Joy spreads just like a smile or laugh influences others to laugh and smile.

Hurting Others does not benefit Self because the Ocean of Thoughts is shared with Others (including yourself). Hurting Self to help others does not benefit Others because the Ocean of Thoughts is shared with Self (and therefore also influencing others.

Being Happy through Appreciation for Life (Self AND Others) is the only solution to brighten the shared Ocean of Thoughts without adding dark drops of water to it.

More on The Power of Gratitude:

I heard a great allegory on gratitude the other day, on the Steve Harvey radio show, of all places.

Let's say you have an extra fifty bucks at the end of the month and you want to share with someone who could use it. You have two kids. One child always complains, never takes responsibility, always makes excuses and is just generally negative, entitled, never satisfied, always wanting more. The other child never complains, is quick to help, responsible, optimistic, unassuming, humble and grateful.

Which kid do you give the money to? It's only natural to be inclined to give it to the child with more gratitude.
Would God feel any different? We are made in his image after all...

It's not your aptitude but your attitude that determines your altitude.

a reply to: lightofgratitude

thank you!



it put things in different light when such a view is considered ... you have certainly then brighten "the ats collective thoughts bin"



and kosmicjack...it is a wonderful story, very nice point.

a reply to: kosmicjack

When you think deeply on the topic, The God/Parent analogy does not follow logically.

Unlike God (if God exists), human parents are not omniscient nor omnipotent. Moreover, they do not have knowledge/foresight about the characteristics/personality of the child before he/she is created, nor did they instil the ability to possess those negative attributes you mentioned about the first child.

OT: This "appreciate what you have and spread love/optimism/respect and you will ignite these things in others around you" philosophy is nice in theory, but it does not always work in practice. In fact, in many cases they tend to attract the opposite because people want to leech off the positive energy and good vibes.

a reply to: Dark Ghost

"Misery loves company"

Most of the time, the negative people will just judge the happy/positive people as being in lala land, stupid, unaware, etc. And would rather hang out with others with the same views as them. Then there are those who are uplifted and become happier by the cheerful people.

a reply to: lightofgratitude

Interesting post. I have that water book btw. It's good.

Have you experimented with the gratitude thing, and how did that work out for you?

I find it easy just to repeat "I love everyone" over and over. Even when I got nothing important in my mind.

Does it help or is this temporary?

a reply to: lightofgratitude

Beautiful thread and beautiful sentiments!

Positivity is not practical for some, because of a hinderance in their cultivated character. When we find it difficult to overcome our own inner negativity, we must remember that most things take effort, practice, and time. On a psychological level, when we overcome the urges of our own negativity to pursue positivity, we begin to develop and strengthen the neural-networks associated with positive conduct. This is how "habits" are formed, through the cultivation and development of neural-networks.

The individual affects their family,... their friends,... their classmates and coworkers,... their neighbors,... their acquaintances,... and all of existence. Stemming from the individual, their families and social networks go onto to affect neighborhoods, cities, states, countries, nations, cultures, all of the various civil and private institutions, and the entire world. Every individual directly and profoundly affects the entire world and all of reality. You, dear individual, affect the entire world with your thoughts, emotions, words, and actions. You are the world and the world is you. The outer world is reflective of our inner worlds.

Gratitude is one of the most powerful emotions we can have. I often sit down and intentionally appreciate moments I have with loved ones, and even appreciate moments that hadn't happen yet at the time. It did it every day for some weeks, and then forgot about it (that is crucial, it seems) Those last ones came true after some time.

I've also been consistently manifest extra income besides my regular salary. Last year I did it every month from April to December. This year I slacked at bit, but almost every time I focused on it, I got opportunities for more income. Extra (simple and easy) work that came out of the blue, major savings.. Etc..

Gratitude appears to be a concept I still need to internalize so this will be an useful reflection. When you brought up the Ocean of Thought one image I got was of a monk putting his hand in water and causing a subtle ripple which at a more intuitive level is trying to transmit an understanding of interconnectedness. Understanding gratitude at the level of heart and Being may be important to me given the circumstances I have found myself in at the present moment, as long as I can practice gratitude and focus my energy I should be able to overcome my present obstacles. I think gratitude is a wonderful spiritual concept to practice as long as people are responsible with their growth and don't use it to try to avoid negative aspects of their psyche. That would be debatable but in the general sense practicing gratitude will generate positive emotions and will lead to a stronger order in a person's life that can be spread to other people which strongly needed in our society.

To me, Gratitude is like an exercise. Just like you can pick up weights to exercise and make your biceps (arm muscles) stronger, the more you focus on Gratitude, the more you strengthen the part of your brain that deals with gratitude, bliss, meditation, and reasonable thinking (left prefrontal cortex).

I noticed that it's a lot easier for me to not become hopeless or fall into depression the more I practice focusing on thoughts of Gratitude. I also became more aware of what I do have and the creative ways that what I do have can be used.

This is the essence of "charity" or love I think, that Paul spoke of in the Bible. It also seems related to the Biblical adage "As a man thinketh, so is he."

Without charity (i.e. genuine love, compassion and appreciation), everything--words, actions, ect. are shallow husks. Feats are pointless when they're for your own conceit, and they'll die with you. From my own experience I believe that life takes on new meaning and a unique vitality when one begins to treat others better than they deserve, to reflect on the fact that even rotten people are still gifted with the human experience and intellect, and to live with thinking directed outwardly instead of in. Whoever out there that popularized the idea to live for you and you only is most certainly a major part of what's wrong with how our society functions today.

The line of work I'm forces me to be a people person and I've witnessed a lot of the good and the bad in the human psyche and spirit. The number one thing people lack is thoughtfulness, and consequently, gratitude, and our whole culture suffers because of it.