I’ll admit it freely…I’m a gratitude junkie. Awe and wonder have always been in abundance for me since I was a kid.
I oooh and aaaah at a lot of things (understatement). I used to worry that it made me look dumb. Now, I’m a grown ass woman and I allow the wonder to wash over me and I’m grateful for may ability to appreciate everything around me. It makes my life infinitely more enjoyable.
Grateful even for my gratitude. #seewhatididthere
“Be astonished by useless things. It’s easy to be thankful for the obvious- healthy kids, public libraries, strong marriages. But in this game we’re going to take it a step further. We’re going to build our gratitude muscle by also appreciating the insignificant and impractical…” — Pam Grout
If you’re in a place where you’d like to bring some more gratitude into your life (and you definitely want that, trust me) you’re gonna have to release your grip on the unfairness, the grievances, the problems.
I know, I know. Sounds crazy. But just give it a whirl.
Because when you’re focused on the stuff that doesn’t work (aka “all the problems”) it’s really hard for lightness, clarity, vision, etc to come through. And when you spend a lot of your energy focusing on all teh stuff gone wrong, you just make more of all that. Get it?
Your thoughts effect and create your reality. A practiced thought will become a belief. What you believe you receive. Thus your thoughts ultimately define your reality. So if you’re in constant worry or a state of disbelief that good things can/will happen to you, then you’re in for more of that.
In that vein, if you want to more lightness, joy, positivity, grace, and flow in your life, then you have to focus on what’s going right. Even the smallest moments have gratitude potential.
For example, if you’re standing in line, just be there. Don’t focus on how you need to get away from that moment. Look around. What do you see? Is there a person around you that reminds you of someone you love? Or maybe you like the color they’re wearing. Or maybe you think, that person is obviously having a bad day and you offer a smile. Or you just focus on being in your body in that moment and say, “hey thanks body for holding me up while I stand here.” Honestly, ANYTHING GOES.
You don’t have to be some holy, highly spiritual master to practice gratitude. Nerp, you can do it anytime, anywhere! Try it. Get silly and a little stupid. It’s a private game. No one has to know you’re playing. Make up your own rules. Do you. Get your happy.
Slowly but surely you can become a force of gratitude.