Gratitude is everything.

I know this. We all know this. Though last Thursday night I had one of those experiences where the knowingness moved from my head to my heart. I felt gratitude in a way words couldn’t necessarily describe, though in the paragraphs below I’ll try.

I am still floating from my event with IntenSati creator and my dear friend Patricia Moreno. The event was Create Your Dream Year in 2014. Along with Patricia and me, we asked six other experts to join us in leading attendees through the intention of setting up 2014 to be the best year yet of their lives. I think we did just that.

Picture this: A room full of women, all excited and ready to invest everything they have into creating a year like never before. There were jitters. No one knew exactly what to expect because, lets face it, when it comes to heart-opening, thought-provoking, deeply-expanding conversations, anything can happen.

Magic happened.

First of all, half of the proceeds from the entire event went to TLC (Tammi’s Liver Club) #LiversAreExpensive fundraising campaign. I am overwhelmed from all the love and generosity that came pouring through; it was game changing for my family.

The evening was about transformation and change. We all felt inspired, as if we were one team transforming our lives together.

Change can be daunting if you feel alone.

I was honored to be part of a group holding space for the desires and dreams of others and to be part of a panel that could support, encourage, and give actionable steps in guiding others toward their truest hearts’ desires.

In order to inspire participants to create 2014 as their best year yet, the panel of experts* (a.k.a. my kind and generous soul sisters who volunteered their time and donated books to raise money for my sister and her very expensive new liver) shared their own deepest challenge and triumph. There were shares about heartbreaks and breakdowns. Stories were told about major wins and even bigger losses.

In front of hundreds of other women, I witnessed hearts open and vulnerability at its purest. I felt every word, every story, every emotion at my core. I felt connected and inspired by these women, by their willingness to commit to something better, no matter how hard things have been. Though most of all, I felt grateful.

I share more often than not that I love what I do. It’s events like this one that bring my gratitude to a new level. Gratitude is so simple to practice but also very easy to forget. Life pulls us in many directions, often away from the very simple law that…

What you focus on expands.
@terri_cole (Click to Tweet!)

When you focus on what you have rather than what you don’t, you bring energy to it. We asked those women who attended Create Your Dream Year to think about and make lists of all that they felt gratitude for in their lives. You could feel the shift; you could feel expansion when we shared about family, friends, money in our pockets, and clothes on our backs rather than the lack most of us are habitually focused on.

Although practicing gratitude might not protect you from experiencing painful events, it will always make whatever it is you are going through feel a little less heavy on the heart.

Use it when you’re up, depend on it when you’re down.

If there were one thing I would ask you to take into 2014 with you it would be this: Focus on what you have and what you love, and from this, you will have more. Through gratitude, you have the ability to turn everything you have into all that you’ve ever desired, and remember, there is always more where that came from.

I’m going to ask you to start now, and in the comments below, post three things, more if you’d like, that you are grateful for.

I’ll go first:
My husband Vic, a career I love, a promising 2014!

Keep on gratituding, and, as always, take care of you.

Love Love Love,
Terri

*Big thanks to all my Soul Sisters who attended as panel experts:
Kate Northrup
Michele Promaulayko
Meggan Watterson
Gabrielle Bernstein
Alisa Vitti

Terri Cole is a licensed psychotherapist, transformation coach, and an expert at turning fear into freedom. Sign up for Terri’s weekly Tune Up Tips and follow her on Twitter.

*Image courtesy of the justified sinner.