When I feel less than appreciated, I remind myself that my life is a mirror and that I need to do two things: first, appreciate myself, then appreciate all the blessings in my life. So I turn once again to the practice of gratitude. As Meister Eckhart wrote, if the only prayer you say in your life is Thank You, that would suffice.

To appreciate myself and my life I start by letting go of wanting to be perfect, knowing that I am perfect and whole just as I am. Does that mean that I don’t sometimes miss the mark in how I am with myself and other people? No. But it does mean that I remember that I am One with Spirit and that Spirit is Good and Goodness. I let go of thinking there is something wrong with me, something that I have to fix, and I remember that I am an expression of the divine. I have a purpose here and it is to express myself fully as Love, Goodness, Kindness, and to do that in my own unique way. I am grateful for all that I have done in my life, all that I have been given.

I also release any desire that my life should be different than it is, and I let go of comparison and envy. The immediate fix for envy is gratitude. I used to be reluctant to be grateful for the commonplace things of my life, until I realized that what I think is commonplace is luxuriousness to most people in the world, — clean water out of the tap; the ability to take a shower every day; light when it is dark; all kinds of delicious food to eat; friends who care about me; family who love me. That is my life, and it is full and blessed.

I remember that a sure way to get “out of myself,” out of negative feelings, is to do something for someone else. Buckminster Fuller said that if we just stood where we are, turned in a circle and did something to help a need that we saw, the world would be a better place. The mission of the Centers for Spiritual Living is to help create a world that works for everyone. If we approach this goal with a heart full of gratitude, we know we are using our self-expression for the good of all.

We can go from feeling unappreciated to knowing we make a difference in the world by being grateful for all that we are and all that we have. In that way, we are a blessing to the world.

I give thanks for each person reading these words, for all the blessings in my life, for life itself. And so it is.

Marilyn O’Leary is a Practitioner at the Rio Grande Center For Spiritual Living, Albuquerque, NM 87107