The Power (22 page)

“You cannot exercise much power without gratitude because it is gratitude that keeps you connected with power.”

Wallace Wattles
(1860-1911)
NEW THOUGHT AUTHOR

I know of thousands of people in the worst imaginable situations who have changed their lives completely through gratitude. I know of miracles that have taken place in health where there seemed to be no hope: failed kidneys regenerate, diseased hearts heal, eyesight is restored, tumors disappear, and bones grow and rebuild themselves. I know of broken relationships that have transformed into magnificent ones through gratitude: failed marriages completely restored, estranged family members reunited, parents transforming relationships with children and teenagers, and teachers transforming students. I have seen people who were in total poverty become wealthy through gratitude: people turned around failing businesses, and people who had struggled with money all their lives created abundance. Someone even went from living on the streets to having a job and a home in a week. I know of people who were in depression who catapulted into joyful and fulfilling lives through gratitude. People who have suffered from anxiety and every kind of mental illness have restored themselves to perfect mental health through gratitude.

Every single savior of the world used gratitude, because they all knew that gratitude was one of the highest expressions of love. They knew that when they were grateful, they were living in exact accordance with the law. Why do you think Jesus said
thank you
before he performed every miracle?

Every
time you feel grateful you are
giving
love, and whatever you give, you receive. Whether you’re giving thanks to a person or feeling grateful for a car, a vacation, a sunset, a gift, a new house, or an exciting event, you are giving love for those things, and you will receive back more joy, more health, more money, more amazing experiences, more incredible relationships, more opportunities.

Try it now. Think of something or someone you’re grateful for. You could choose the person you love more than anyone else in the world. Focus on that person and think about all the things you love and are grateful for about that person. Then, in your mind or out loud, tell that person all those things you love and are grateful for about them, as though they were there with you. Tell them all the reasons you love them. You can recall particular instances or moments by saying, “Remember the time when …” As you’re doing it, feel the gratitude begin to fill your heart and body.

The love you gave in that simple exercise must and will return to you in the relationship, and in your whole life. That is how easy it is to give love through gratitude.

Albert Einstein was one of the greatest scientists who ever lived. His discoveries completely changed the way we see the universe. And when asked about his monumental achievements, Einstein spoke only of giving thanks to others. One of the most brilliant minds that has ever lived thanked others for what they had given to him – a hundred times a day! That means at least a hundred times a day, Einstein gave love. Is it any wonder that life revealed so many of its mysteries to Albert Einstein?

“A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life depend on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving.”

Albert Einstein
(1879-1955)
NOBEL PRIZE–WINNING PHYSICIST

Gratitude, the Great Multiplier

When you’re grateful for the things you have, no matter how small they may be, you will receive more of those things. If you’re grateful for the money you have, however little, you will receive more money. If you’re grateful for a relationship, even if it’s not perfect, the relationship will get better. If you’re grateful for the job that you have, even if it’s not your dream job, you will receive better opportunities in your work. Because gratitude is the great multiplier of life!

“If the only prayer you say in your entire life is – ‘thank you’ – that is enough.”

Meister Eckhart
(1260-1328)
CHRISTIAN WRITER AND THEOLOGIAN

Gratitude begins with two simple words –
thank you
– but you have to feel grateful with all your heart. The more you start to say
thank you
, the more you will feel it, and the more love you will give. There are three ways to use the power of gratitude in your life, and every one of them is giving love:

1. Be grateful for everything you have received in your life (past).
   
2. Be grateful for everything you are receiving in your life (present).
   
3. Be grateful for what you want in your life, as though you have received it (future).
   

If you’re not grateful for what you’ve received, and what you’re receiving, you’re not giving love, and you don’t have the power to change any of your current circumstances. When you give thanks for what you’ve received and what you’re continuing to receive, it
multiplies
those things. At the same time, gratitude brings what you want! Be grateful for what you want in your life, as though you have received it, and the law of attraction says you
must
receive it.

Can you imagine that something so simple as being grateful can multiply everything you love and completely change your life?

A divorced man, lonely, depressed, and working in a job he hated, decided to practice love and gratitude every day to change his life. He began by being positive to everyone he talked to during the day. When he called old friends and family, he shocked them with how positive and happy he was. He began to be grateful for everything he had, right down to being grateful for running water. This is what happened to his life within 120 days: Everything he hated about his job miraculously changed, and he now loves his job. His job even takes him to places that he has always wanted to see. He has the best relationships with all his family members, which he’d never had before. He paid off his car and he always has the money he needs. He has good days no matter what is happening. And he is married again – to his first love from tenth grade!