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I was talking with my buddy Jonathan Old-Rowe a fellow yoga instructor about Appreciation. He was writing daily thoughts of appreciation in a journal and it brought me back to the following quote from a Master Buddha Daisaku Ikeda… “The ungrateful feel that it is below them to show any kind of appreciation. They are under the delusion that showing gratitude to others diminishes their own worth. But it is this sense of appreciation that elevates, enriches and expands the human spirit. A lack of gratitude is actually a sign of arrogance.”

Gratitude leads to Abundance

I try to encourage all my friends, family, fans and students to take time every day to not only acknowledge what they are thankful for, but to demonstrate it.

But why give thanks at all? 
Actually taking action to demonstrate your gratitude instantly makes you feel better because you stop focusing on what you don’t like and don’t want and being focusing on what you have.  This shift creates an emotional high from feel good chemicals in the brain like serotonin.  Spiritually this shift, though sometimes not immediately apparent, can go a long way toward attracting more abundance into your life.   An immediate effect would be giving a friend their favorite treat, lets say a mango in this case, for helping you move into a new apartment.  Immediately when they get that mango they thank you and you get instant feel good feedback.

But sometimes the feel good feedback come later, perhaps days, weeks or even years.  Over time by giving thanks we may see things we needed just appear as if out of nowhere like a new love, much needed money or the right medicine.  If we continue to practice gratitude these things multiply and we can’t help but believe we are actively attracting abundance in our lives.

How can I Demonstrate Gratitude? Here are a few things you can do:

• Wash your car and give it a massage if its taken you through life free from breakdown.
• If you’re parents or friends are at your side and there for you, tell them how thankful you are for supporting and believing in you.
• If you have food on the table every day, give thanks to everyone and thing that brought it to your table including the sunshine, soil, water, farmers, truckers and your own efforts to earn money to pay for it.
• If you see the colors of a beautiful sky or flower give thanks for your eyes.
• If you hear the sweet sounds of Chad Scott Music .. had to throw that in.. give thanks for your ears and how much joy they bring you.
• If you can walk, do yoga, swim, climb, run or bike, give thanks to your legs and arms as they carry you through this life and propel you to victory, adrenaline and adventure.

How do you express gratitude?  If you can think of other ways to express gratitude please comment below.

Thanks for reading.  I really appreciate you.   -Chad