How much we have to be thankful for~ What better way to raise the vibration than to be full of gratitude? Having a grateful heart makes everything that much better, and prepares the way for more good to come.

I have a vision of gratitude temples springing up all over this country. I hope we can create the first one here, in Western North Carolina. Just imagine a place where the sole reason for going there is to give thanks, be thankful and feel the thank-full-ness of others. In November of 2009, I saw this building in my heart’s eye. I saw hundreds of urns filled with people’s words of what they are grateful for, sitting on shelves and in nooks in the earthen walls. There were thousands upon thousands of little pieces of paper inside these urns, held in this sanctuary. When someone comes into the gratitude temple, they silently place a gratitude blessing in the urn that sits in the center of the temple, and are filled with smiles of well-being. So many days when I am running errands or between work in the city, how I long for a place such as this to just go for a half an hour or so and re-fill my well through giving thanks with others.

Starting this January 2010, in classes that I teach and at other opportunities, I pass out little slips of paper and have folks write down something specific they are grateful for. And then it gets placed in one of the gratitude urns. There are hundreds in one urn now. I imagine each can hold a thousand or more. We can start by having a gratitude urn in our own home, and being reflective about what we are thankful for. So, the vision is birthed, and it will be our grateful hearts that help bring the Gratitude Temples into reality.