Tag: Articles

Why Gratitude Makes You Happy and Wealthy

Why Gratitude Makes You Happy and Wealthy
by Christine Kane

Gratitude is more than being thankful one day a year. Gratitude is a practice. For some, it’s a way of life.

Why do some people swear by the practice of gratitude? Why do these people have joy-filled and abundant lives?

In other words, why does gratitude make you happy and wealthy?

• Because gratitude is about presence.

It’s about waking up in this moment and being here – really being here – and noticing what’s around you. Most people are so busy thinking about the next thing, or about their horrid past, that they don’t wake up and look around at their present moment – the only moment there is.

• Because gratitude is about honoring YOUR precious life.

Do you ever compare your life with someone else’s? Do you ever wish your life were better and more like [insert famous person’s name here]? Sometimes we can lose ourselves in wondering how we “measure up” to some standard set by our families or by the media. Comparison is the mind killer. The antidote is gratitude.

Gratitude requires that you validate your own life. (And you really don’t have any other life, do
you?) It forces you to say YES to the gift that is you. The choices you’ve made and the changes you’ve gone through – they have brought you here. Even if here is a place that needs a little adjustment, that’s okay. There are always gifts in any present moment.

• Because gratitude is about attracting.

It’s difficult to attract abundance and joy if you are constantly saying “no” to what IS. You say “no” each time you focus on the future or past, or when you criticize something that is in your present moment.

Attraction is about saying Yes. When you say Yes, you shift.

Gratitude says, “Yes, I love this!” And then more of this is attracted, because the this is what you’re focusing on.

• Because gratitude is about choice.

How you translate any situation is the situation. What you choose to see is the truth (for you).

This isn’t proposing that you live in denial or phoniness. It’s reminding you that your translation of any life situation is your choice. We’ve all heard stories of people who have ignored others’ translations of their talent, their projects, their art, their looks, their lives. These people chose their own translations and succeeded. You always have a choice when it comes to how you look at things. Choose to choose gratitude.

• Because gratitude is about wisdom.

I think people believe they’re being smart if they criticize, complain, and focus on the problems of the world around them.

Smart? Maybe.

Clever? Sure.

But not wise.

It is wise to look for and find the knowing place in your heart. It is wise to choose joy. It is wise to honor your riches. It is wise to focus on and grow the blessings of your life.

• Because gratitude is about recognition.

Use your power of focus to hone in on beauty and on what makes your heart sing. Recognize the spirit in your life. It’s all around you waiting to be noticed. In the words of Franz Kafka, “It will roll in ecstasy at your feet.”

• Because gratitude is about receptivity.

Gratitude makes you receptive. It makes you a vessel, waiting to be filled.

I carry a tiny notebook with me everywhere I go. In it, I write down song ideas. I write down quotes I hear. I write down ideas for stage stories. As I do that, I become more receptive, and more ideas and songs come to me. It’s a tool that says to my subconscious, “Send more my way!” And the subconscious always responds.

Gratitude is the same way. It says, “I am receptive! Send more!” And more arrives.

• Because gratitude is about creativity.

Creativity is really all about attention. (So is genius.)

When I write a song, I build a relationship with that song. I spend time with it. I get to know it. I pay attention to it. Artists do the same thing with drawings. They spend time in rapt attention, and the drawing is born.

Gratitude is how we Live Creative. It is a creative act to notice and pay attention to the moments of your life. Some days it’s an enormous act of creativity to find things for which to be thankful.

Start today.

And have a Thanksgiving of presence, creativity, and gratitude!

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please do! Just be sure to include this complete blurb with it:

Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her ‘LiveCreative’ weekly ezine with more than 8,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative atwww.christinekane.com.

WANT TO SEE HUNDREDS MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE?
See Christine’s blog – Be Creative. Be Conscious. Be Courageous – at ChristineKane.com/blog.

7 Happy Rituals for the Short Days of Winter

7 Happy Rituals for the Short Days of Winter
by Christine Kane

Each year, when we turn the clocks back, I am torn.

On the one hand, I’m elated to get some extra sleep and “gain” an hour. On the other hand, it’s a little sad to know that winter is coming, and the days are getting shorter.

A few years ago, I noticed that I was rolling with the change of season much more gracefully – and without the same dread I had often felt. It was around that time I learned to create ritualsin my days. Seasons, after all, show us what our lives are meant to be: dark times, light times, expansion, contraction, and of course… change!

If you are experiencing anxiety or sadness as winter approaches and the days get shorter, I invite you to try one or two of these rituals. Maybe you’ll start to look forward to the earlier evenings as you see the mystery and magic of this beautiful season…

1 – Create a Glow

The great thing about darker evenings is that they allow for the perfect candle lighting ritual. Create a sacred space in your home and light candles at dusk or when you get home from work.

Some of my favorite candles are antique medicine bottles I’ve picked up at various flea markets over the years. I fill them with candle oil and wicks. The glass reflects the flame for even more glow! I’m always on the look out for simple candles and holders. (A quick resource for all kinds of candles is TJ Maxx.)

2 – Start a Gratitude Journal

It’s the season of Thanksgiving, so why not begin the habit of gratitude now, rather than waiting til the end of the month?

Get a beautiful journal and commit to completing your day with gratitude. Start with a list of five things. Write in as much detail as you can.

We live in such lavish abundance, yet it’s so easy to speed through the days without noticing. A gratitude journal will change your life!

3 – Feed the Birds

Wake up to bird song!

One of my favorite rituals is to make sure that the bird feeders are chock full of the best seed possible. Our feeders always have visitors, so we keep a guide to birds near our back door so we can grab it any time we spot a new species. We have regular visits from nuthatches, chickadees, flickers, titmouse, all kinds of woodpeckers, Carolina wrens, bluejays – we’ve even seen rare birds, like the hooded warbler. Spend some blissful time witnessing the pure joy of our feathered friends! (A great resource for bird-feeders is Wild Birds Unlimited.)

4 – Catch Up on Movies

Winter is a great time to catch up on those movies you missed in the theaters. I keep a list in my iPhone, and any time someone recommends a movie, I take note. That way, when I get to the video store, I have a reference. You can also get great television show seasons on Netflix.

5 – Morning Work-Outs

When the clocks turn back, the mornings get lighter. Why not take advantage and wake up earlier to hit the gym? Start a fitness ritual. Exercise has been proven – over and over again! – to remedy everything from disease to depression. Hire a trainer for a month and learn some new exercises! The fitness habit will lift your mood like nothing else!

6 – Complete a Project

Remember that idea you had for a scrapbook? Or that language learning series you’ve been meaning to plunge into? Well, now’s the time!

Winter is a perfect time to learn a new craft, create something meaningful, and get lost in the joyof a new project. Winter is also the time to go inward and lose yourself in creating. What have you been meaning to create?

7 – Get Out!

Any dog will tell you: Winter is a fabulous time to hike! It’s cold. It’s crisp. You bundle up in layers of polar fleece. And you get to experience the hidden treasures of a season that most people avoid.

Make it a point to find some trails or paths near your home. Then, commit to bundling up and spending time outdoors each weekend. There’s rarely anyone else out – so you get to have acres and acres to yourself. (Though you might bump into me and my dog! It’s our favorite hiking season!)

Note: I wrote about one more of my favorite non-fattening winter rituals on my blog this week.Click here to read about it!

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please do! Just be sure to include this complete blurb with it:

Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her ‘LiveCreative’ weekly ezine with more than 4,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative atwww.christinekane.com.

WANT TO SEE HUNDREDS MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE?
See Christine’s blog – Be Creative. Be Conscious. Be Courageous – at ChristineKane.com/blog.

Blog Action Day 2009 : Climate Change

Today is Blog Action Day. It happens every year on Oct. 15, it’s an event that unites bloggers worldwide, to spread the word about a particular issue. This year’s it’s about Climate Change.

Climate Change is part of Global Warming and it’s defiantly effecting our environment. They are many ways you can do your part and help change our environment. Just some of them are:

  • Carpool
  • Recycle
  • Telecommute
  • Bike or Walk to work
  • Use Green Products
  • Use CFLs
  • Use Energy Star products
  • buy a fuel-efficient car
  • know your carbon foot print & try to reduce it
  • eat more organic & local grown veggies & fruits

The list goes on what you can do to help with the environment, I do everything I can like recycling, telecommuting, composting, saving rain water to use to water the plants, use cfls, have a fuel-efficient car, eat only organic & locally grown veggies, using, Energy Star products, shutdown my computer or other appliances when they are not in use,  keeping the heat  turn down or not using heating/AC at all. (don’t mind wearing a hoodie  around the house  or keeping the windows open in the spring,  fall or winter). etc.

You don’t have to do everything I do or mentioned here, but if everyone just did a little something like using CFL light bulbs, carpool or even recycle, it would help out in a big way.