all is creative: gratefulness is a powerful creative tool.

Gratefulness is creative?

yes, it is.

love, appreciation, reverence, affection, warmth, joy, generosity… these concepts, like many things, have been misinterpreted many times throughout history, and yet overall they have always been powerful forces in the universe.

being grateful for all we have in life can create in us a positive, radiant feeling that others notice. it can create a relief from stress.

being grateful to others can’t help but move one towards stronger ties and warmth in one’s relationships.

being grateful for our art and our creations can work wonders with creative blocks.

being grateful for what we have faith (or confidence) that we will receive, can create a subtle shift of those things towards us. an example: perhaps you’ve become so enthusiastic, so excited for something, that you ended up grateful before even receiving it, and despite the possibility that “anything can go wrong,” you didn’t even entertain briefly the thought that you might not get it.

or perhaps you’ve been brought up christian, and you are faithful in the word of the bible, and you’re familiar with parables like that of the roman centurion, in whom gratefulness radiated from him towards jesus, for curing his servant from miles away, even before the healing had taken place.

or you know this excerpt from bodhisattva’s vow:

“Among us, in our own daily lives, who is not reverently grateful for the protections of life: food, drink, and clothing! Though they are inanimate things,they are nonetheless the warm flesh and blood, the merciful incarnations of Buddha.”

whatever the case, being grateful feels good, inside and out.

a personal example in my life, which is unfolding presently, is my extreme gratefulness for my comfort and well-being, as well as the beauty and joy in my life and the friends, family, and people i’m able to share them with.

i recently lost a client, am owed quite a sum of money by another, and have had another put his project on hold. on top of that i went chasing what i thought were opportunities, spending time and money on them, only for them to not directly result in income. these events really rocked my normally zen-like state, and i realized that prior to all that, i had already begun to worry that i would not be able to pay rent, or that there “wasn’t enough money” — which is a scarcity state of mind, limiting myself, and definitely not gratitude. so even if i happened to be thankful for a few minutes of the week, the rest of the time was spent worrying negatively.

for the last 3 days though, i’ve been focusing on being grateful for a) what i’ve had, b) what i have, and c) what i will receive with utter faith and a pure and sincere heart.

suddenly, in the middle of writing this article, my landlord called me to have coffee. we chatted and i brought up the topic of rent and told him i felt i could have the money if he could just give me some time. and he did! not only did i receive a few days, he gave me the better part of a month — saying to me that what’s important is that i felt good and comfortable paying rent, not a few days here or there.

on top of that, a client contacted me out of the blue for some photoshop scripting.

the point is that i was grateful beforehand, and i’m even more grateful now, and its a beautiful thing.

using one’s thoughts to create is often misunderstood / misused, so i am glad to proffer an example like this.

gratefulness, whether one is conscious of it or not, is a form of prayer, the strongest form of prayer actually. it is a tool to create and re-create our world. the way most people notice this is internally; it feels good to be grateful. it also re-shapes the world externally, though often far more subtly, and like any skill or tool it can be practiced with, improved upon, and made second- (or first-) nature.

if you want more on tools for creation, you can check out the services page, and i’d like to give a heads up to an article by dr. norm williams (toronto author,) also on gratefulness.

i love and am grateful for and appreciate the fact that you’ll try it soon