Bright Spot
As you gather around the table for the Thanksgiving meal this year it’s easy to be mindful and give thanks for the many blessings your have in your life. Friends and family, nourishing and comforting food and a wonderful excuse for a lazy afternoon nap – Thanksgiving provides a glorious opportunity to express and experience gratitude.
In the last “Bright Spots”, it was noted how wonderful it would be to keep the spirit of Thanksgiving and the feeling of family and thankfulness with us all year. By cultivating an “attitude of gratitude” and expressing gratitude daily, our lives could be so much more powerful and abundant. This is because gratitude is self- perpetuating – the more we are thankful for, the more we will find to be thankful for. However, much like learning any new skill or flexing an untapped muscle, acquiring an “attitude of gratitude” requires mental discipline and dedicated practice. It requires consistent and heartfelt effort.
So as promised, here are some ideas to keep gratitude and abundance flowing into your life all year long*.
û Start a wall of gratitude – whenever you are moved by something you are grateful for, write the source of your inspiration on a Post-it note and stick it on the wall. Gradually, you will build a mosaic of gratitude with plenty to remind you of what makes your life so special.
û Use you senses – each day, pick one of your five senses to focus on. Be aware of how many gifts come to you through that single port of entry.
û Set an alarm – use your cell phone to set an alarm once, twice or three times a day. Every time it goes off stop what you are doing, and for 30 seconds, focus on something or someone that you are thankful for.
û Pay a thank you visit – Go a step further than sending a
thank you note. Deliver your message in person and experience first hand the happiness your gratitude creates.
û See their secret goodness – pick three people you like and see
regularly. For one week observe their actions and gestures through the lens of seeing their innate goodness and best intentions. Notice how this new way of seeing changes your interactions with them. Once you have practiced, try it on strangers and difficult people too.
û Flip your complaints – every time you find yourself
complaining about something, stop. Think about one thing that you are learning from the inconvenience.
û Keep grateful company – become more aware of who you
spend your time with. Surround yourself with grateful people, and you will start noticing the brighter side of life yourself.
And finally,
û Start a gratitude journal – dedicate a place to “write down” daily what you are thankful for each day. Start with five things you are grateful for outside of yourself like other people, places or things, frame them in the positive and be specific. Find a time of day that is your best time like early in the morning or before you go to bed.
Warning: be prepared to sleep better, research shows that people who cultivate gratitude sleep better than those who don’t.
So, have fun cultivating your “attitude of gratitude” – remember the more gratitude you express, the more abundant you will feel.
Happy Thanksgiving!
* body + soul Magazine November 2008