Alexandra: Hello, dear Universe!

The Universe: Hello, dear mini-me!

A: Oh that’s good. The macrocosm/microcosm thing! I like it, thank you.

U: We’ve noticed you say thank you quite a lot.

A: How kind of you to remark on that. It encourages me! I didn’t come by gratitude or appreciation very easily, at first. I had a chip on my shoulder and I was bitter about many things and people in my young life. No wonder I felt so old when I was young.

U: What changed you?

A: Practising Buddhism. The man I took as my mentor, Daisaku Ikeda, said that without gratitude we’re not truly human. The tricky thing is to be grateful for stuff that doesn’t seem to be good or beneficial, or even fair. (Fairness was always a big thing for me.) Then when I remember, and start to express gratitude in my prayers for even this stuff, it narrows the channels that allow torment into my heart, and I’m able to turn negative into positive.

U: Spiritual alchemy.

A: Exactly! That’s how I see it! And I’ve also heard of gratitude described as Vitamin G.

U: For fun (yes, The Universe likes to have fun) let’s take a look at this Vitamin G thing.

A: Okay. I’ll use Google. I know you know all this stuff already, since you are all-seeing and all-knowing. And, I suppose, all-hearing, too.

U: Even though we do know all the answers to humankind’s thorny problems, the point is for humanity to awaken and find the answers within itself. Otherwise, if you don’t mind us saying, you’ll never arrive at emotional maturity.

A: Ouch. You’re right, though. Good thing we’re on the brink of the age of Aquarius… Anyway! Vitamin G! This is what I found:

Gratitude… is not only a great virtue but the parent of all other virtues. When you feel gratitude, you become more honest. It cuts rates of cheating dramatically. When you feel gratitude, it makes you more generous. You give more resources to other people. It also gives you more patience and perseverance. When you feel gratitude, you put more weight on future gains. So you’re more willing to put in time and effort in the moment, even if it’s difficult. ~ David DeSteno, professor of psychology at Northeastern University

Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~ OptiHealth family-run health food products website

Gratitude rewires the pathways in our brain, which boosts our levels of dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin ‒ the happy hormones. … Gratitude helps us with anxiety by interrupting the cycle of constantly scanning for dangers. ~ Institute of Integrative Nutrition.

A: No wonder I feel so much better than I used to!

U: Very good! Keep up the good work, dear one. We hear you at night, listing all the things you’re grateful for during the day, just before you fall asleep. Know that it opens wide the way to more good things for you.

Alexandra: Thank you!

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash