Daily Deposits of Gratitude

​Why do we wait until something has happened to express GRATITUDE for it? 
Instead of waiting until after something has occured that brings about feelings of GRATITUDE try PAYING IT FORWARD. Give thanks every day for this life you have chosen to live and for those who have agreed to share it with you. Your GRATITUDE must include those who you feel have hurt you in some way for they are your greatest teachers.  I can hear your disgust at the thought of being GRATEFUL to such a person but GRATITUDE doesn't discriminate between good or bad - you do. 
To be able to know GRATITUDE intimately you must first accept that all things that come to you in this lifetime are for your LEARNING and APPRECIATION.  Why do we only APPRECIATE and give GRATITUDE for our own lives and the lives of those we cherish when they have been put in jeopardy?  What if we gave thanks every day for the wonderful opportunity to live this life we have chosen and for those who have chosen to live it with us.  It is a good place to start. 
I invite you to start your day by depositing UNCONDITIONAL GRATITUDE into your SOUL BANK. Begin your day by unconditionally thanking the DIVINE CONSCIOUSNESS, to which we all belong, for everything that will happen that day no matter what it may be.  By doing this we are acknowledging our appreciation for the life you are living, the learning in all things, for the people we share it with and opportunities that this life as you affords you. Most importantly for what you can and cannot yet understand. 

My gratitude bank has been in need of some deposits recently and nothing brings that more to my attention than the years of earthquakes we have experienced here in New Zealand.
So many of my fellow NZ citizens lives are forever changed after the large earthquake that shook our land on the 14 November 2016 at 12.02am.
We are no strangers to large earthquakes and their devastation. Earthquakes are like losing loved ones to death, they don't get easier or better the more you experience them and sadly there has been loss of life caused by this quake too just as there was in February 2011.

It's challenging to feel grateful that your own life is free from loss and all is seemingly normal when others are suffering so much. There is an element of guilt in there somewhere combined with a lot of relief and trepidation that this state of being ok could change at any moment, if the ground decided to move violently where I or my loved ones are standing.

So I am making frequent deposits into my gratitude bank again now. 
I say, " Thank you God for everything." I don't mean God in any religious sense more 'The All That Is'  "Divine Consciousness' that we are all a part of, but God is shorter to say and simpler to write.

It's easy to be grateful with hindsight. In 2011 I was guided to adjust my beliefs about Gratitude which meant that  rather than being grateful after the fact, I may want to now give thanks before anything takes place;  create a Gratitude bank and put into it daily. To be grateful for 'everything' no matter whether it is deemed good or bad: a tough challenge in the face of what was happening at the time. 
The day I received this insight was June 13 2011. Canterbury was still in the grip of aftershocks following both the September 2010 and the hugely destructive February 2011 quakes. This day was no different to any others. By the time the 6.4 quake arrived we had already had 14 quakes that day the smallest being 2.2 mag and the largest 5.2. A fairly normal day for us all by that stage.

Our children were at school in the city just like they were that day in February and that morning I  had been given the guidance to be grateful no matter what. To give thanks for this life no matter what happens, unaware that I would be challenged that very day, to put this new found wisdom into practice.

The 6.4 arrived at 14.20pm,  shaking us all to the core. We managed to contact the children and decided that it was better if they caught the bus home,  rather than clogging the roads to go and pick them up. That was not an easy decision, as my first reaction was to rush in there and rescue them just as we had done in February. 

They arrived home eventually safe, sound and sadly worse for the wear from their ordeal.
I was so grateful to have them home;  to be together again so that I could protect and keep them safe.

It wasn't long before we were putting them on the bus so they could return to school in the shaky city. My gratitude bank got some huge deposits and mammoth withdrawals during the next few years.  
As time went on the constant shaking happened less and less lulling me into a false sense of security allowing complacency, to take place of the gratitude and vigilance.

I realised how little I had in my gratitude bank at Monday at 12.02am,  when the earth once again moved us all around reminding me that all we have is now - right now. This is it. This second and this one and this one, because when you live with earthquakes as a daily occurrence you realise that in any second the ground beneath you can start to shake and you don't know how big or small it will be. While it might be small for you it could be big for someone else. It depends where the epicentre is.

This life is a fragile existence. We build our lives on a ball in space which is a living breathing organism and when she decides to shift we can only go along for the ride. 
No matter who or what we are, when the Earth does her thing, we are but rag dolls at the mercy of her immense energy. Being reminded of this has given me a much needed kick in the pants, to refine my quest to be truly more of who I am and to appreciate more and more all of the gifts of people, health, home, and life that I have right now. Not to waste a moment of it. I thought I was doing that, but I now realise that it goes deeper and higher than I ever imagined.

Don't wait another second to pay into your gratitude bank and be more of who you really are and express appreciation for what you have no matter how big or small.  Your present awaits you.

I am rocking my little ball in space and my gratitude bank is filling up again so I want to share some of it with you.
From the fullness of my heart I say "Thank you for everything. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And so it is."

​Until next time when something comes "Write From My Heart."
Olwynne xxx

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SHARE YOU THOUGHTS AND INSIGHTS BELOW IN THE COMMENTS SECTION.