Giving Thanks

I know I've written about this topic not so long ago, but it's becoming even clearer to me so I want to add to what I've already written. And besides, somewhere deep down we really all do know this stuff, wouldn't you agree? When we hear something or read something somewhere that just resonates with us at our core, we know it, right?

That's what it means to hit on a principle. A principle is a general truth, rule, or law that works all of the time for everyone. So when you know something and you know you know it, that's probably a principle.

I'm finally starting to understand what it means to be grateful, which is very distinct from being thankful. And I think that distinction for me is a distinction that carries over to other parts of my life as well.

Being thankful is hugely gratifying - both to the giver and the receiver of the thanks. It's great to be acknowledged for something you did for someone else and it makes you feel great also to be able to sincerely appreciate someone else for something they did. In this scenario there needs to be a thing or a situation that has already been completed in order for the thanks to be given. It is an acknowledgment for a situation in the past that has been done to or for another.

I see gratitude, on the other hand, as a state of being independent of a past event. I don't need anything to have already happened in order to be in a state of gratitude. I can be grateful for current situations regardless of whether or not they are ones I've chosen.

So thanks is a DOING, and gratitude is a BEING.

This is a great time for me to both BE and DO. I'm grateful everyday for the awareness and consciousness I'm continually living into which allows me to see things differently. And I'm thankful for you - my readers - who are taking the time to read what I write and occasionally share your own thoughts and ideas here. Together I know we are up to something big and I look forward to many more posts and exchanges to come!