I remember hearing a few years ago a sermon that Rev. Michael Beckwith gave at Agape where he said, “You are to be grateful for everything in your life…not just the good stuff…but EVERYTHING.” When I first heard that I thought, he must be speaking metaphorically or something. Because, how could we be grateful for illness, relationship trouble, failure, lack, etc.? No, he really meant everything.
Well, we know that sometimes the most amazing blessings come to us out of the most challenging experiences. At the very least, we’ve learned a lesson. We’ll never make that mistake again, right? We can also learn more about forgiveness. We can learn to forgive ourselves, our family and our friends. What a blessing that is. Forgiveness frees us.
But there is a deeper level on which we can take this message. Beckwith went on to say that, “when we are grateful for everything, we are literally lifting our vibration…lifting it out of the realm of dense, physical form…out of the realm of ‘effect’ and into the the vibration of ’cause’.”
Okay, if we accept that everything is energy, and all things vibrate at a certain vibration…and that like vibration attracts that which is like itself, then this begins to make sense. In other words, if I am focusing on how bad my current experience is, this causes me to feel pretty bad about myself, other people, and life in general. I am now vibrating at a level that will…if I don’t change it…attract more challenging experiences to me.
But, how do I change it? I can begin to change my vibration by shifting my perception. I can shift my perception to a place where I understand that these challenging circumstances and experiences are, in fact, “effects” in my life. It’s not who I am. Who I am is far greater than the experiences and circumstances of my life. I am an expression of Life itself. When I focus on this…I can be thankful for my life. When I am thankful for my life, I begin to feel better about myself and about life in general.
When I feel better about these my life, my mind becomes clearer. I can begin to see solutions to certain challenges. I begin to get ideas about how I can change things. I can also feel more compassion for myself and others. I can love myself more. All of this lifts my vibration into the realm of “cause” from which my experience flows. And the experiences that flow from this vibration are blessed indeed.
What do you think? Do you think it’s possible to be grateful for everything? Can you honestly be grateful for everything? Share your thoughts by commenting here.
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Today I am grateful for the experiences in my life that have led me to this point…I am open and available to Spirit to move through me.
I’m familiar with this line of thinking…being grateful even for the adversity we experience in our life… but not from a religious, spiritual perspective. It came from a personal development perspective; the soul as the deepest sense of the person you are, transcending the body you inhabit. At its simplest, it means that any challenge we experience in life can teach us something, so we should be grateful for that opportunity to learn and grow.
I understand and agree to some extent, but I can’t go as far as to be grateful for incredibly unjust (IMO), injurious, damaging, traumatic or permanent/final suffering. That sounds inelegant, but I can’t find the words I want to express this. Ex. Should a Haitian resident be grateful for the earthquake? Mass destruction, death, trauma and loss came from that incident. Are their positives? Could international attention to the poverty in Haiti be enough to make the earthquake something for which the Haitians be grateful? I suppose that some think we should feel grateful that the plight of the thousands of Haitian children who were orphaned by the earthquake revealed that there is still international, criminal trafficking in human lives? I suppose so, but I would rather not have had the incident occur that caused the attention. earthquake
What can you be grateful for in regard to the loss of a loved parent, child or partner? That it might force you to examine the relationship or build up emotional resilience? I’d personally rather have the person in my life, than the learning experience. Maybe I’m missing the point. I’m not convinced. I feel horrified by news of children taken, killed, orphaned, sold, unfed, hurt, unloved; not grateful.
Hi Lisa,
Thank you so much for your thoughtful contribution to this discussion. I value your comments. I hope it starts a conversation.