Five Ways to Explore Gratitude
Having an attitude of gratitude can reduce stress!
This is the first of what will likely be many posts about gratitude.
When we are grieving or in hard times, it can be difficult to wrap our heads around ideas of gratitude. Gratitude can feel like something that rich people or privileged people do.
In fact, the attitude of gratitude works for anyone at any time. It’s not magical thinking, but it is a way to process the world around us. It’s a way to learn to be still within our own thoughts. It’s a way to stop and reflect. A way to meditate.
Sometimes we’ll find that a lot of our thoughts and movements are actions or reactions to what other people do. People who might be oblivious that they affected us at all.
In our moments of gratitude, we can take a few minutes or hours to self-reflect, and be still and learn our own truths.
It can take a long time to understand the concept and practice of gratitude.
It can be challenging to adopt an idea of gratitude when everything is falling apart around us or when we’re in a deep depression or anxiety.
But taking a moment to reflect on gratitude, to be present in the moment, this moment right now can help us be more centered or grounded so that we have the strength to forge ahead despite the challenges thrown at us every day. Taking a moment for gratitude can reduce stress.
You can reflect on gratitude at any time of day anywhere you happen to be. You can reflect before you climb out of bed or crawl into it. You can reflect while waiting for the subway. You can light candles and incense and reflect in a special place in your home. The rituals are only important to you, whatever it takes to transform the rush of All That Life Is into a calmer Reflective Moment that is happening Right Now.
Here are five reflections on gratitude. You can think about one; you can think about them all. There will always be more moments of gratitude to find in any given day.
You don’t have to read my explanations about why I chose the five concepts. It only matters what the words mean to you, if anything at all. There is no right or wrong.
I’ll be writing other posts about gratitude and will explore the concept more. So don’t worry if this particular post doesn’t resonate with you.
Today, I’m just interested in these Five Ways to Explore Gratitude, and maybe you will be as well. Let me know in the comments if you like these reflections and what attitudes of gratitude YOU use.
Ancestral
Where did I come from?
Reflect on your ancestors.
Some you may know; some you might not know.
Sit quietly and give thanks to your ancestral lines, to all the mothers and fathers who came before you. Their blood is in your blood.
If you’re a woman with ovaries, you are carrying the future bloodlines of not just children you have/had in this lifetime, but future generations who will look back and see you as an ancestor.
The courage and strength of your ancestors flows in your blood. You exist and survive because of all who have come before you.
Technology
Enjoy what we have in the moment when it comes to technology.
If you’re reading this, you have some sort of technology. Of course, millions of people around the world don’t have technology nor want it. But the people who would read an article such as this are using technology.
I keep facing the fact I’m old; technology such as home computers and cell phones evolved within my lifetime. It’s been cool to watch it all unfold and sometimes, I can’t that believe it’s happening at all. I think that I’ll snap awake lying on the floor of my parents’ kitchen with that black shiny long cord handset clutched in my palm as I recount a dream I once had to one of my teenage friends. A dream where we could just talk when we wanted, directly and easily.
And now, here we are.
Be grateful for these modern technologies. We don’t have to ask a parent if Susie is home and then make awkward small talk until Susie does or doesn’t come to the phone.
No more getting out of the car in the winter to go to the little kiosk to pay the guy for gas. No more waiting in line for an hour or more with a screaming baby and squirming toddler at the bank just to put in the weekly paycheck to get money out to get groceries.
Technology has made life so much easier for so many. Don’t worry about the philosophical concepts while you’re in your moment of gratitude. Be focused on the idea that it exists at all and how grateful you are for the moments of simplicity and connection that it brings.
The Ability to Reason. Philosophy.
We have the ability to ponder our own lives, our futures, our presents; why are we here, what’s the point, who cares? What is my legacy? Are we more than our stuff? Where do we go when we go?
The fact that we can ponder these ideas at all is a gift.
In some cultures, you wouldn’t dare say your thoughts out loud. So far, there are no machines that control our thoughts, so ponder and reason and philosophize all you want in the safety of your own brain.
Whatever the answers we give ourselves, whether they soothe us or create more anxiety, we can be grateful that we have the ability to think these thoughts at all.
When our minds are expanded, our ability to manifest our goals intensifies.
Whatever path that led you here to this moment was meant to be, no matter how horrific it was. It doesn’t mean YOU yourself had to learn a lesson; you are part of a puzzle in someone else’s life as well as your own. You have the ability to see the Big Picture. Maybe you can’t find the answers, and that’s okay. You’re not here to find answers. You are here to be present in the moment.
Be grateful for the ability to question and wonder. Not everyone has the ability.
The Sun
Here on planet earth, the sun is very important. So important that in some cultures, it is worshipped.
Enjoy the beauty of the sunrise.
Enjoy the beauty of the sunset.
Be still and marvel at the sun.
Death
When someone dies, it’s usually very sad. Sometimes it’s a blessing if the person was very ill or in pain. But mostly, it’s a devastating loss to those left behind.
One of the ways to work through grief for the deceased is to be grateful that you knew the person at all. That you were able to be their friend, or enjoy their movies, or be loved by them in what time you had.
As we get older, more people die. It can seem like every day someone is dying, and they are. Death is part of life. The more people you know and befriend, the more you will be aware of death closing in on you.
The gratitude of loss can take some time to really embrace. The celebration of the deceased’s life and impact on yours can take place at any time; you don’t have to wait for a formal event or funeral. You can celebrate the deceased as much as you want in your moments of gratitude.
Be grateful that you knew and loved someone enough that they impacted your life. Take the lessons you learned from that relationship and carry them with you.
I have gratitude for everyone who signs up for my newsletter, whether free or paid!
Thank you!