Love does not flower in a vacuum, but rather is nourished by supportive attitudes such as generosity and gratitude. Generosity is so important, not only to love but to all spiritual life.
While forgiveness heals the heart of old hurts, gratitude opens it to present love. Gratitude bestows many benefits. It dissolves negative feelings: anger and jealousy melt in its embrace, fear and defensiveness shrink. Gratitude deflates the barriers to love.
Gratitude also evokes happiness, which is itself a powerfully healing and beneficial emotion. The great Taoist sage Chuang Tzu even went so far as to say that "When one reaches happiness, one is close to perfection." When we are happy, we like to make others happy, and this fosters kindness and generosity.
Gratitude is a gift to everyone. No wonder Saint Paul urged us to "Rejoice always" and to "give thanks in all circumstances." Like other attitudes, gratitude can be cultivated. We can't have to wait for our fairy godmother to shower us with gifts before feeling thankful. We can develop gratitude by reflecting on the gifts that are already ours. This reflection can be done for a minute, a day, or throughout a lifetime. Most people celebrate their birthday and holidays, but those who cultivate gratitude celebrate every day. We can be grateful because we are happy but we can also be happy because we are grateful.
A helpful exercise is to extend this spirit of thankfulness through your day.
1) Think of the people you will meet during this time. These might include family members or friends who love you, the bus drivers who get you to and from work, or the janitor who cleans your room. See if you can find a reason to feel grateful to each person you meet.
2) Continue this recollection of gratitude throughout the day. Try to bring to mind a reason for feeling grateful to each person you meet. This need not take long; a few seconds may be enough to recall some quality or gift of theirs that you appreciate. In this way each person becomes a bearer of good feelings and each meeting is a cause for gratitude.
At the completion of the exercise period, take time to reflect on the people you met and your feelings about them. After a day like this, you may understand why gratitude is called the heart of love. (Essential Spirituality, Roger Walsh.)
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