The Gift That Remains Ungiven. How to Give Yourself the Most Powerful Gift in Life.

By Jackie White

There is a gift for you that is priceless. This gift can make you smile time and time again. It sometimes is small, but nevertheless the most powerful gift. It comes in all different sizes and forms and is always there for you. This gift is so life-changing, it’s hard to imagine how it can be overlooked. This beautifully wrapped gift sits upon the shelf for years and goes unnoticed. The funny thing is that where that gift sits, there are several other amazing gifts wrapped in ribbons waiting for you to give your family and friends. Yet, there they sit.
These gifts can change your life and those around you. If you just open the gift you will see the incredible things that are waiting for you. What is guaranteed is that this gift will bring you happiness and joy. This gift will begin to rearrange what is right in the world. It will spill out it’s positive energy and deliver hope, love and a smile. Your life will become fulfilled and the meaning will begin to show itself to you. The negativity in life, the sadness and want-for-more begins to fade away once this gift is opened. When you give this gift to your family and friends, it is doubly powerful in that they receive a ray of sunshine from you and you receive the warm feeling of giving and connection.

Give the Gift Away
We think about the gift on occasion, but do not stop long enough to unwrap it. It’s such a disservice to ourselves to not take the time to unwrap it. The gifts we have for others are so meaningful and powerful to them, but have very little power to us, yet we choose to keep them to ourselves. Why? How could there be such a powerful gift right here under our noses and we do not see it? We get used to walking past it, and we do not realize the value it has.

The Gift
By now, you may be wondering what the gift is. The gift is free, yet its value is immeasurable. It sheds positive light on your life and fills you with feelings of happiness and love. It’s for you, and it’s for you to give away. This gift is called gratitude. When practiced regularly gratitude can and will change your life.

Tough Love So You Can Receive Love:
So, if this gift is so wonderful, why does it remain un-given so often? For many of us, life gets busy and we do not slow down enough to recognize what we are grateful for. Then, there is, unfortunately, the mindset that we think we deserve certain things in life and a thanks for it is not needed. Finally, being grateful may be uncomfortable because you feel vulnerable acknowledging that you received help from someone else. Here is what we have to do: get over ourselves! The reasons to not be grateful never outweigh the benefit of being grateful. Let me say that again: The reasons to not be grateful never outweigh the benefits of being grateful.

The fact is, humans need other humans. Connection to others is extremely important. Being grateful is a small, but powerful way to connect with others, make them feel good and make your own life happier. That is a recipe for a successful and fulfilled life.

It’s Time to Unwrap the Gift
The time has come to start unwrapping this beautiful gift for yourself. It will require that you quiet your mind for a few minutes and pay attention. It is also helpful to have a pen and paper ready to record what your gift is. Are you ready to finally open the most powerful, life-changing gift? If you are, then look into your heart and find what you are grateful for. Those things you hold near and dear to you are your gift. They are wrapped in gratitude, but need to be opened, otherwise, they are meaningless. When you take the time to recognize the things in your life with gratitude, these things, whether they are big or small, will fill you up. The fact is when you are grateful, it is almost impossible to be sad, mad or negative in almost anyway. That’s the power of gratitude.
But what about your family and friends? You know you have places in your heart that you are grateful for them, but if you do not tell them, it remains a beautifully wrapped gift that sits on the shelf. It’s no good to anyone if the gift just sits there, you must give it.
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The best part of this gift of gratitude is that there is not a special occasion needed to give it. You can open that present everyday and give to yourself and give to others. You will feel and see an amazing transformation in life for the better. You will lift others up by showing gratitude for them and as a result you will feel a stronger connection with them.

Practicing Gratitude
Practicing gratitude is like exercising a muscle. You need to work on it every day and the muscle will become stronger and easier to use. Here are some ways to help you get started with a gratitude practice:
1)      Get a notebook or Gratitude Journal to write in or use the notes in your phone.
2)      Spend a few minutes everyday thinking about what you are grateful for.
3)      Write down 3-5 things you are grateful for. Do not choose the same things every day.
4)      Write why you are grateful for those things.
5)      Think of others and why you are grateful for them and most importantly, let them know.

That’s it. It is that easy to infuse your life with the power of gratitude. I invite you to open your gift and share your gift with others.
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In the spirit of gratitude, I thank you for allowing me to share this with you.

Shine On