Self Awareness Intention to be Grateful

In my observation of life and the reasons we are so unhappy is that we take life for granted, and build on moments of unhappy thoughts and actions.

Have you ever noticed how no matter how good life is that we still have a feeling of not enough? Sometimes I feel like we are as spoiled children complaining of what we want and never happy with what is given to us. As we get bored with our life and what is, tossing our possessions and life out the window in the corner of old throwaways, ignoring them and complaining.

We have a beautiful home. We need to buy a new one.

We have a wonderful home. Well, it may not be the house of your dreams, but you spend all your time speaking of what you wish rather than being grateful for what is.

A heaviness starts to creep in. You go to the store buying new this or that to bring it to what you want, then you look around and you want more.

You shop and shop for years and you still feel unhappy for what has been created.

You lose weight and put on your new clothes. At first you are over the moon, then as time goes you start to self-criticise again, little by little. Then again you are unhappy with what has been created, and in your self judgement you put the weight back on. Your self-anger creates an unhappy attitude where you want to eat joy in, and fat becomes your closest friend and enemy.

MY GRATITUDE LESSONS

When I moved here from the states I started to compare without realizing it. My house was not decorated the way I wanted it, I had no oven to cook my wonderful Greek pastries. The floor plan was different than I was accustomed to. Ah, my electrical outlets, where are they? One on each wall? No, one on a wall in the room, where I had to buy extensions and long cords so I could work.

Everything challenged me and I spent lots of time developing a critical mind, especially when I wanted to cook. The laundry had to be hung out. Yes, I was spoiled. I always had a dryer. My dishes, hand washed, where I used to take my dishwasher for granted. I miss my dishwasher. However, I now enjoy my meditation time washing dishes where great ideas come in, and where I clear with the dishes many of my issues, in my self awareness.

YES! Gratitude!

Flies, let me complain of the flies. Too many. At least I live in Queensland where there are not as many flies, yet every time I go in or out of the house, a healthy noisy fly comes buzzing in.

When I travel to other parts of Australia I have learned the hand wave, where I wave my hand over my face to shoo the fly. I am lucky I have not caught one in my mouth like someone I know. GRATITUDE.

Get the picture?

I was creating for myself unhappiness.

Finally I realised what I was doing. I made a conscious choice and started my day with GRATITUDE.

I was grateful to be alive, even when I was in a bad mood. I am ALIVE, from the first breath in the morning hearing the birds waking up with their morning chip chip as if speaking to each other quietly before they got up with their morning celebration in various songs, as they said their praise for a new day.

I would walk through the house, around the kitchen, looking out the window at the beauty of the day, looking at my wonderful lemon tree which brought me no end of joy with its wonderful lemons.

AWARE FEELINGS

The feeling of Gratitude would fill me. It was so obvious that the moments of gratitude sometimes were harder to find when I had allowed my negative thinking to take hold. However, when the light bulb came on, WOW, WHAT A FEELING.

Once I would feel it, I had to train myself to retain it and grow with it. How does one train oneself to practice gratitude, to practice Happiness? It comes in the awareness, being aware of how I am feeling, being. I make a conscious effort to be aware of how I am feeling.

By being aware I am not on auto pilot. I am actually creating my existence by being aware of my every moment. The NOW has a new perspective. Brushing my teeth, walking from point A to B in awareness can be quite exhilarating. Being in Awareness brings you to a constant state. So what state do you want to be in, a Happy Grateful State, or an Angry Resentful State?

If you are unaware of how you are from one moment to the next, you can with your autopilot start walking in old patterns of resentment and anger, by the slightest event.

Be aware of how you are feeling. If you do not like it, change it. One way for sure is to think of the things you are Grateful For, and if you did this often it will be a wonderful habit which can create, one moment at a time, the experience of your whole year.

Make that your intention. Gone with the New Year's Resolution, which is more about control than freedom. Practice the Awareness of the NOW and you will see that you have a new Pattern of Happiness.