A few weeks ago I wrote this post about practicing gratitude in the everyday rhythms of life. In that post I also mentioned that I’d like to do a Thankful Thursdays guest series and invited other bloggers who were interested in writing a guest post to contact me. I was blown away by the response.

Over the past few years I’ve become absolutely convinced that there is a direct relationship between gratitude and joy. Some of the most joyful people I know are not the ones who have the best things or who don’t experience hardships. They are simply people who remain grateful for the gifts in their lives instead of becoming bitter or cynical. 

More recently I have realized gratitude doesn’t always come naturally – it is something we have to practice. This can be difficult to do, especially when we don’t feel particularly thankful, but I am convinced it’s a spiritual discipline we are called to practice.

I asked writers to share their own thoughts and reflections on gratitude and the role that it plays in their lives.

Today we are kicking off the series with a post from Pradnya Vernekar. Pradnya is  a new friend I “met” when she took the challenge to participate in her own 52 Weeks of Adventure. I’ve enjoyed reading about her adventures and getting to know her over the internet. As you’ll see from this post, Pradnya oozes positivity. I always finish her posts with a smile on my face. I hope you enjoy this reflection on the many things we can be thankful for.

Header Image Credit: Symphony of Joy on Flickr Creative Commons

I Live Gratitude

Gratitude for me means learning to live as if everything in life is a miracle. Gratitude for me means being thankful for all the abundance in my life. Gratitude for me means being surrounded by positive people with pure hearts. Gratitude for me means all of this and much more!

I thank God that I am able to experience and see the breathtaking sunrise with my eyes, that I can hear the waves lashing out at each other and calming down as they approach the shore, that I can smell the corn being grilled on the barbeque, that my tongue salivates to have a bite of that corn, that my feet sink in the sand and I feel I am drowning as the waves disappear back into the sea, that I can fill my palms with water and throw it at my soulmate for fun, that my heart pounds with life when I see a flock of birds intersecting the sunrise and flying over the waters in a single line, that my brain has such vital power to process so many beautiful things at once and let me appreciate the goodness in the world. I am just thankful that my body and my mind are in harmony and let me create happiness from the smallest of things! Many of us take the innumerable functions our body and mind carry out for granted, losing out on the best of life’s moments. Be thankful that you have everything intact in your body and try to acknowledge its greatness!

I thank God that I have 24 hours in a day to follow my heart and do things I love the most. I thank him that on a Monday evening with rain pouring outside, I can sit in my balcony, sipping hot coffee and doing what I love the most – writing! I am grateful to God for blessing me with this unique prowess of writing, enabling me to touch the hearts of people through my expressions in my own small way. I thank God for the love and affection I receive from my readers which cannot be measured in dollars.

I thank God that I get my nutritious meals on time and my home is filled with love and laughter, that I have a terrific soulmate who respects me, that my parents raised me to be a humble human being, that my sister holds my family together, that my in-laws are angels, that I have true friends who genuinely care for me!

I thank God every morning for giving me another day to explore, to enjoy, to learn and breathe! When my hands make a ‘namastey’ with eyes closed in front of God, I do not seek anything from Him. I just THANK Him for the unlimited abundance he has blessed me with and still continues with his blessings!

I simply live gratitude!

About the Author: Pradnya is a dynamic HR, an avid reader, an amateur poet and a natural writer. She is an ardent believer in God and tries to dig up happiness even in the darkest of mines. Join her as she takes you on a joyride called ‘life’ at Wanderings of my Mind and 52 Weeks of Adventure.