If I were to ask you if you practice meditation, perhaps most of you would say no, but, I wonder if that is really true.
I actually believe we all meditate. The problem is that we don’t choose what to meditate on. If you are like me, the most natural things to fixate our thoughts on are negative things. A thought comes into your head and bounces around like those big steel ball bearings in a pinball game. Like that person who was rude to me, or the guy who cut me off in traffic, or whatever my latest life stressor is. When I fixate on those kinds of thoughts my mental health spirals downward. It’s hard to stop the slide.
What if we changed it up a bit? What difference would that make in your life if you chose what to fixate your thoughts on instead of just letting it happen?
There have been many scientific studies about the benefits of gratitude that corroborate what the Bible says. Feel free to Google “studies on the benefits of gratitude” and find out for yourself.
The Apostle Paul said, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me — everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” (in Philippians 4:8–9 - NLT)
Here’s a suggestion for you. It’s something that my wife, Ruth, does regularly. Start a gratitude journal. Write down five things each day that you are grateful for, and then choose to bring your mind back to those things throughout the day. They don’t have to be big profound things, but I can almost guarantee that if you regularly do this each day, it will change your life profoundly.
