“Gratitude is a key for welcoming more of what you love in life.”
This was said by a man named Benjamin Hjertefølger (surname translated in English as “Heartfollower”). Benjamin and his family live in an eco-house that they constructed themselves in Northern Norway. Their way of life is simple and pleasant. They grow their own food, are given energy from the sun, and live on a daily dose of curiosity and laughter.
Many people may look at the Heartfollower family and think that they live an idyllic life. While it’s true–the life they’ve created is pretty gorgeous–they live based on one key ingredient that we can all incorporate into our daily experience: Gratitude.
It’s been talked about in terms of the Law of Attraction, but what is it and how does it work?
Gratitude is an experience of being grateful for all that you have and all that is in your life. While you can easily think in about 5 minutes of all the things that you own and do and the people that you know, it’s easy to get caught up in expressing gratitude from the head.
Take a moment and focus your awareness in your heart. Take a few breaths, imagining that you’re breathing from your heart. Feel the movement in your chest, and even in your upper back. Place your hand on your heart and think of the word, Gratitude. Then, draw your attention to everything that you appreciate in your life. Experience gratitude from your heart.
Does that feel different?
The difference in experiencing gratitude from your heart rather than your head is that there is no wanting in the space of the heart. There is no feeling of lack. The head can look at the world in a very black and white way. It can be grateful for the bed you have, but can question why it hasn’t yet received that new car you’ve always wanted. Experiencing gratitude from the heart expands your awareness to the quantum level, where you can be immeasurably grateful for simply having the desire for that new car. The heart experiences no distance between the things you physically do have now and the things you have a desire for, that you may have in the future. Experiencing gratitude from the heart allows the journey of desire to open up. It’s truly enjoying the journey rather than thinking you’ll only be happy when you tangibly have “the thing”.
So, give it a try. While expressing gratitude, move your awareness to the area around your heart. Bring all the things, people, places, and dreams your grateful for, as well as the ideas you have desires for, and express your gratitude from the heart. You’ll see, then, how truly lucky you already are.
Check out this gorgeous video of the Heartfollower family in Norway!
