Thank you!

The October 2007 issue of Reader’s Digest includes a delightful article from Deborah Norville’s book, “How the New Science of Thank You Can Change Your Life.” To sum it up, “feeling grateful can actually make us healthier.” The concept might be new to science but it’s ancient wisdom. Smile and the world smiles with you. It’s all about perspective.

In the article Norville tracks a newly arrived Manhattanite from gloom to glee. What’d he do? Decided one grousy morning to begin counting the things that made him happy on his way through the city. By the time he arrived at his destination he was feeling a whole lot better and enjoying himself. The city didn’t suddenly change, neither did its millions of inhabitants. The man’s better feeling was a result of shifting his perspective.

Thank you. Two words fraught with meaning. To say or think “thank you” is to give conscious attention to someone/something that has improved your moment. How do you feel when someone says to you “thank you!” How do you feel when you say to another “thank you!” It feels good.

Many folk routinely give thanks for their food before they eat. An interesting study would be the instance of gastro-intestinal disorders between those who appreciate their food and those who can’t/don’t/won’t.

Appreciation and gratitude are “thank yous.” It takes little effort to appreciate your moment. The smell of coffee, or popcorn, or flowers. Someone’s smile. Music. Fresh air. Your car. Your plants. There are many things in your moment that serve you well and can be consciously appreciated. Consciously means thought energy reinforcing the pleasing thing/condition. The Law of Attraction ensures that as you give your attention (thought) to something, you bring more of it into your experience.

Thank you by thank you, appreciation by appreciation, the world is transforming. It is said that the preponderance of grateful/appreciative thinking now outweighs the negative/fearful. Like compound interest, the better it gets, the better it gets. As more and more people see and appreciate their world, the more their world responds in kind. I suspect that’s why so many people are attracted to the “Complaint Free World” purple bracelet and popular publications such as Reader’s Digest devote more coverage of the power of conscious intent. More people are proving to themselves that it works, it's real, and it's something forever at hand. It's about time...