Hello My Dear,
I hope this post finds you well.
Before we get into reading why being grateful is good for you, I’m going to tell you what this post isn’t going to show you.
I’m not going into the science behind gratitude. This post isn’t going to tell you that you have to be grateful because you have to and everyone is doing it so should you. Nope, not me. This post will show you how it has helped in my life, and maybe you would like to give it a try.
Remember to take the parts that will fit into your life and leave the rest.
I’m the type of person who likes to try things out if I believe it may enrich my life. Some things I might stick to and others I might give up because it just doesn’t fit or feel right.
I tried this gratitude practice out way back in the day when the book The Secret came out, and only a few people were using gratitude, you know, those in the know (me nodding my head). So here’s me wanting to give it a try, I ordered the notebook to hold all my gratefulness inside, but I had no real idea of the why it was vital for me to be writing it all down. I was just writing things down and mostly repeating myself on nearly every page. I wasn’t getting it. They did say the universe would give back, but what was she giving back???
As you can imagine, I didn’t stick to the practice long. Over the years, I have tried to come back to writing it all down because others in the bullet journal community were doing it. But yet again it didn’t bring me joy. And doing it because others were didn’t make sense.
That was until the day my best friend and fur baby died. I was so heartbroken that I didn’t know what to do with myself. We stood at his grave, and hubby and I started saying what we were grateful for. How our pup had enriched our lives, the joy and craziness he brought into it. Believe it or not, the pain started not to be as bad. So every time I felt, the pain creeping up, I turned it into gratitude.
Then I took part in a what’s app group which had gratitude entwined, one weekend we had to write 100 things down that we were grateful for in a notebook. Boy was that a hard task. This task made me look at my surroundings and find every small thing that I was grateful for. It also made me turn inside to see what my inner self was thankful for.
What gratitude has shown me is that I am in control of how I feel and helps me see what I have in life.
In this crapy covid times we live in, which is some-what filled with uncertainty. Some people may feel trapped and worried as hell. It is easy to focus on what we can’t do and aren’t allowed to do or people we can’t see right now and how things are holding us back from living our regular lives than it is to find the good.
As always, I would suggest journaling out your feelings and turning those feelings around and finding the good in each situation. I would like you to take a look at what we can do during these times. What positive things have happened in this lockdown? Don’t look for answers from the outside world; it’s a mess out there, but with-in your four walls.
For example, this is what I’m grateful for;
I’m grateful that I have a roof over my head and don’t have to sleep in a car.
I’m grateful that I have a heater and a fireplace that work and I don’t feel the cold.
I’m grateful that I have loads of pens to write down my thoughts so that they don’t take over my brain. Oh, and paper to hold those thoughts.
I’m grateful to have internet (when it work even more so)
I’m grateful to have meds that have helped me crawl through depression.
I’m grateful that I have food on the table even if I have to make it myself; I hate cooking.
I’m grateful that I had a wonderful cat Arthur who showed me that even I am a cat person. I do miss him so and so do our dogs.
I have found that gratitude works deeper
when you write down why you are grateful for each item—looking for the why brings more joy to the surface and moves those feelings that we have looked inside. What I believe is the more joy you can feel the more you will find in your day. I also believe that heartache is a little easier to bear with gratitude, and it also helps stop me falling too deep into depression. You could even say that the universe will give back, the more happiness you feel, the more you will receive.
Like, I’m grateful for this cuddly old cardigan that I’m wearing. It lets me wear a T-shirt under it and snuggle its collar right up to my ears. This old thing keeps me nice and warm and feels like a cuddly teddy bear. It helps me feel safe and reminds me of being wrapped in a blanket hidden away from harm.
Don’t be afraid to dig deeper into your why and appreciate the object or feeling you find.
Here we go, the conclusion.
Gratitude can help you see things in a different light. It can help you appreciate your surroundings way more. It enables you to see the things you have and less of what you don’t have in your life. And if you feel trapped, it can help you focus on something you can do and have. Side note; what also helps, is to make a list of things that you can do in your house if you aren’t allowed outside right now.
I’m grateful that you have found this post and that I might have helped you just a little. It brings joy into my life if I can help one person feel happy or find a solution to a problem (cheesy right? But true)
Also, I’m grateful to have been able to write this post first with an orange pen in a notebook in my traveller’s journal, and I love trying to use up pens that I haven’t used in a very long time.
Then I’m grateful to have Scrivener, a writing app that helps with spelling and keeps my writing safe until I can then transfer it to WordPress when I can get back online.
Thank you for being here and keep yourself safe
Yours
