Prosperity, gratitude, and giving are inseperable. Many people mistakenly believe that once they have achieved wealth, they will be grateful. This is exactly the opposite of the way life really works. We must be grateful beforehand and it is in that thankfulness for the good we now have, that it is multiplied. Each time we acknowledge gratitude for some small thing, it is like making a deposit into our karmic bank account. Whenever we condemn, judge, or criticize, we are depleting our account.
With the Thanksgiving holiday behind us, will we remember to carry the gratitude we felt yesterday, into today – and into tomorrow? The holidays are known to be a source of stress for many. We have convinced ourselves that we must shower our children with all kinds of toys and ensure we are loved by family and friends, by giving expensive gifts (or very cheap ones simply out of a sense of obligation). Often these gifts are purchased with a credit card, creating yet more stress when the bills come due.
What if we gave up this tradition that only strengthens large corporate interests by increasing their profits? Many gifts go unappreciated, or they are returned or exchanged. Some people even re-gift those gifts that they received, but did not like. Gift cards have become a more common form of giving, but what is the point, really? Giving gifts merely because we are expected to is beyond meaningless. It would make more sense to give gifts throughout the year, at unexpected times, for unique reasons of our own. We would be giving truly from the heart and without expectation of a return gift. This would spawn greater creativity in our gift giving. The unexpected gift that is given for no reason at all is a wonderful surprise to the recipient. This is when the giver receives the greatest gift of all and knows this from the fullness in her heart. That fullness brings greater prosperity. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Juliet speaks of her love saying, “The more I give to thee the more I have”. This is as true in the physical world as it is in the world of the heart. The fullness of love in one’s heart is true prosperity.
