Western culture is built upon comparison.  I compare what I have to what you have.  In that comparison comes a number a number of responses such as jealousy, greed, stress, anger, frustration and the list goes on.  The possessions we do not have play so many tricks on us.

The “Thank You” game is fun to play.  However, don’t dip into the past and resist being thankful for the future.  Play the “Thank You” game in the Now.  What do you find yourself thankful for right now as you read this?  I am thankful for an open mind.  I am thankful for my health.  I am thankful for my love of helping others.  Your response may be similar to mine or completely different.  But I challenge you to stay in the present and play the game.  The results are quite interesting …

True joy and gratitude doesn’t come from the next possession, but rather the level of contentment we have with our true self.  When we let go of the image we believe others want to see and remove pettiness and smallness from our lives, there we will find true contentment with who we are.  Our own unique true self.  You’re beautiful.

Santosha – Gratitude

Let’s play the thank you game.  I had no idea what the thank you game was, but I began to search hard for clues and cracks and pauses in which I could, with some kind of honesty, say thank you to life.  What I discovered turned my world upside down.  It wasn’t long before my step was lighter and slowly almost everything began to bring a smile to my face and words of gratitude to my heart.  I was alive again, and my life was enchanting.

Practicing gratitude protects us from our own pettiness and smallness and keeps us centered in the joy and abundance of our own life.  When stimulation pulls at us and disturbance beckons us, it is the gratitude uttered from our lips that keeps us strongly rooted in contentment.

Book – “The Yamas and Niyamas” by Deborah Adele