We often speak of being grateful and the importance of gratefulness but truly living a grateful life is far more complicated and challenging than it appears. Grateful,  a word so often used around this time of the year but rarely truly heart felt because the underlying action,  the foundation that supports you to achieve a grateful state of mind is (in my opinion) forgiveness.

 Forgiveness on the other hand is a far more complicated and in depth concept that is often reserved for the truly divine on earth. Forgiveness has such a powerful influence on being grateful that you almost have to start there before you can achieve a grateful state. True Gratefulness is typically forged by another human being or event that more often than not has hurt you in ways that you can't even begin to understand.

Most of the time it will take much of your adult life to determine the individual or event that altered your course, that influenced your perspective and created your beliefs. It will take another chunk of your adult years to decipher the pattern of behavior that has been set in motion by that person or event.  And should you not pass the test, the same type of person or circumstances will be served up to you again and again and again further strengthening a possible incorrect belief system. Only when you can pin point the individual or event that triggered this cascade of gratefulness teachings can you arrive to an authentic understanding of what true gratitude looks like. 

It is that singular moment when you realize, when you finally connect the dots,  that even those who have hurt us, events that have harmed us emotionally, financially or physically are not necessarily villains but quite possibly our teachers of gratefulness. Then and only then can you release all the negative thought processes to let more of life's gifts in. It's like making space for light much the same like decluttering your home.  You have to make space for the light in your heart for it to exist. You have to make space for gratitude.

 Making space for gratitude allows you to  see all the wonderful experiences we have had along the way and for a moment change our perspective and see the once villain transform to   a teacher of gratefulness. It may take 30 years and it may not be achieved at all and you continue your life looking at your heart as half empty. 

Not everyone and every event get the Gratefulness Teacher Badge because let's face it some things and some people just suck and fall into the category of A-holes. The beauty of gratefulness teachings is determining who and what go in which category and when you can do that you have entered into the Advanced Course of Gratefulness. 

This blog is dedicated to all my Gratefulness Teachers. You don't know who you are but I do (unless I've told you that I have changed your status from A-Hole to teacher) - Thank You! You have played an active part in revealing my true self - forcing me to make space for the light within to shine through. Happy Holidays!