Adopt an attitude with gratitude and altitude.
I’m stealing this statement from an eBook just written by a buddy of mine, Gary. More on him and his eBook later when it comes out.
He talked about, “gratefulness and lofty, positive thoughts and images sustain brain health by holding back the release of stress hormones.” … the stress hormones (adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol) that too often come from our 65,000 thoughts per day. Yikes!
Thank you, Gary. I just looked up. Much like Adele sings about looking up instead of looking down in one of her crazily popular songs from 25.
I do love this notion of Attitude of Altitude and Looking Up.
And indeed, this is wrapped up in gratitude and grace. Oprah taught us the importance of gratitude 20 years ago when she started her gratitude journal. She continues to hail gratitude as one of the fundamental lessons that has enriched her life.
But this altitude angle startled me, a big bright light is shining on gratitude for me.
Why? Is it because I have never kept up my gratitude journal? Is it because I think that I already live in a consistent state of gratitude? Is it because I have done my gratitudes like a checklist? Am I bored with my gratitude journal? Yuck, that’s ugly.
Or is it because I have never looked up when I think gratitude? Is it because I don’t feel really deserving? There’s something that I am missing.
This statement takes gratitude further:
“If you have gratitude, you don’t have room for fear. And that was one of the biggest things–that fear holds us back so much. Fear is what causes so much of our bad behavior and our poor choices. And gratitude can’t live in the same way that love can’t live with fear. So if you’re grateful, you move to that place of love. And trust is soul, right? Trust is God.” (Tracey Jackson, 2017, p 159)
Wow…
I get how lofty, positive thoughts like gratitude can move negative, stress producing thoughts off my grid, and can change my attitude.
But I will admit that I don’t think I have allowed gratitude to move my fears over, …. way out of feeling range.
That would require really looking up, breathing in my gratitude, and seeing the horizon differently.
Thank you. I am grateful.
Gary Foster – MakeAgingWork.com
Tracey Jackson in Oprah Winfrey, The Wisdom of Sundays, 2017; NY, Flatiron Books.