Gratitude: The Energy That Heals
What is Gratitude?
Gratitude is a state of being — a soft awareness of thankfulness, an open heart that sees abundance in even the smallest moments. Many cultures weave gratitude into their daily rhythm. In Hawaiʻi, the E Ala E sunrise chant greets the rising sun with reverence, giving thanks for the light that nourishes the land and awakens all life.
“A grateful mind is a great mind which eventually attracts to itself great things.” – Plato
“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.” – Eckhart Tolle
“Thankfulness brings you to the place where the Beloved lives.” – Rumi
Gratitude is both prayer and vibration. It calls us into harmony with life’s natural flow — the same current that guides the oceans, the wind, and the beating of our hearts.
How to Begin a Practice of Gratitude
Positive Affirmations
When the mind is heavy with anxiety or sadness, gratitude can be a doorway back to balance. Writing or speaking simple affirmations reprograms the brains pathways, shifting us from the stress-driven sympathetic state into peace.
Try beginning your day with a few soft statements:
“I am grateful for clean water.”
“I am grateful for air that fills my lungs.”
“I am grateful for the people who love me.”
“I am grateful for the rain that nourishes the land.”
Gratitude in Action
Before meals, take a pause to give thanks — not only for the food on your plate, but for the unseen hands and elements that made it possible: the soil that held the seed, the rain that nourished it, the sunlight that ripened it, and the people who tended, harvested, and shared in its journey to your table.
You can also extend gratitude to your own body — your heart for its strength, your breath for its steadiness, your hands for all they create.
Symbols of Thankfulness
In The Blessing Bracelet, a Hallmark story about resilience, a woman weaves beads into a bracelet, each one symbolizing a blessing. She wears it as a reminder to return to gratitude even through challenge. Small rituals like this keep our hearts anchored in joy.
Gratitude for Mother Earth
Planting trees and tending the land is a tangible form of prayer. Each act of care becomes a thread in the web of healing that connects all life.
“Planting trees and caring for the environment is a practical and tangible way to show our gratitude and respect for Mother Earth. Trees purify the air, provide habitats for wildlife, and help prevent soil erosion.”
— Despertar Magia: Mother Earth, Rituals of Gratitude and Respect
There are endless ways to show appreciation: joining a beach cleanup, composting, conserving water, or simply standing barefoot on the soil in quiet reverence.
Healing the Earth Through Gratitude
Many people seek the Earth’s healing — grounding in the forest, hugging trees, or walking barefoot along the shore. But what if we reversed that flow? What if we offered healing back to Earth through gratitude?
When we touch the Earth with bare feet, we can share our love, our stories, our energy. The trees listen. The soil feels.
When we admire a flower, we can pray that its fragrance carries far — to bees, to wind, to all corners of the land.
When we take a fallen branch or cut a tree, we can plant another, whispering mahalo for its life.
When we drink water, we can give thanks — and in that gratitude, we begin to use it mindfully, preserving it for generations ahead.
When we breathe deeply, we honor the air, choosing to walk or bike instead of drive.
When we love one another, we live more communally — sharing resources, reducing waste, and nurturing deeper connection.
When we compost, we return what was given, transforming remnants into nourishment for new life.
Gratitude transforms consumption into communion. It teaches us that healing is a circle — what we offer returns to us magnified.
“Gratitude is the thread that weaves our hearts back to the Earth.
It is the language all beings understand —
the whisper of thank you carried in wind,
the offering of water to root,
the bow of sunlight upon leaf.
When we remember to be grateful,
we remember we belong.”
With Love, Irma Rose
