Give…
“Gratitude is the world’s most powerful drug”. Starting your day with gratitude opens up all sorts of opportunities. You will experience personal growth, better mental health, improved interactions with others and a real sense of satisfaction. Studies have shown that being grateful and practising gratitude reduces stress levels.
“When you are present in gratitude, you can’t be anywhere else.”
Feeling grateful causes our brain to release those feel-good chemicals that we love and crave and so we can be led to make a habit of being grateful. Gratitude also has benefits for the physical body by blocking toxic emotions that can cause illnesses and heart disease. “Studies show that grateful people not only feel healthier, they’re also more likely
to take part in healthy activities and seek care when they’re ill.” It is beneficial to you and others to cultivate a daily practice of gratitude and to be grateful in every possible situation.
Shetty says that “Gratitude is the mother of all qualities. As a mother gives birth, gratitude brings forth all other qualities – compassion, resilience, confidence, passion – positive traits that help us find meaning and connect with others”.
In the past week, we have looked at stages of transformation: to let go of the ego, to recognize our value and purpose and to seek a higher level of service. In Shetty’s words, “The highest purpose is to live in service.” Service should play a central role in our lives. This is hard to achieve, especially as our lives are so busy and pressured and
we all have our own struggles.
However, “selflessness heals the self”. Therefore, we should strive to serve. We all have so much to offer and give and use for the good of others. In serving others, we can find happiness. “Seeing the purpose of life as service leads to fulfilment”.
“Service is good for the body and the soul”. Studies show that when we participate in activities aimed at helping others, we experience fewer feelings of stress, anxiety and depression. Service connects us to others. Service increases feelings of gratitude. Service increases your offerings to the world. Service gives a sense of meaning and purpose.
Service can be just as infectious as happiness and gratitude, so spread the word, invite others to join you in your acts of service. Remember to serve with a good heart, with intention and within your purpose.
Jay Shetty’s life hack:
“Service is always the answer. It fixes a bad day. It tempers the burdens we bear. Service helps others and it helps us. We don’t expect anything in return, but what we get is the joy of service. It’s an exchange of love. When you’re living in service, you don’t have time to complain and criticize. When you’re living in service, your fears go away. When
you’re living in service, you feel grateful. Your material attachments diminish.”
