Break Me Off a Piece of That Gratitude

Break Me Off a Piece of That Gratitude

Some time back I started a little practice first thing in the morning, namely, writing out appreciations from the previous day. Taking a few minutes to look for the good in the day before has proved to be an interesting and valuable exercise. On the one hand, I have had some very interesting days, shall we say, and yet, on the other hand, I have always found things that I appreciate, shimmering pools of gratitude, no matter how challenging the day has been.

I’ve been curious to notice that the days when I am really sluggish about finding jewels in the previous day have little to do with the quality of the day. Rather, it has to do with waking up feeling pissy, or glum, or some other thought-driven mood.

Because I have made the commitment to write out that daily list, which I publish on facebook, I make myself go looking. Often, just that little effort will pull me out from the doldrums.

When it doesn’t, I look for the thoughts. Sometimes I can find them pretty easily, but sometimes those pesky thoughts are unconscious. Then I have to put on my Sherlock hat and grab a lamp and go looking deep inside.

One of the things I’ve learned is that a bad dream can put me in a bad mood. Even one I don’t remember. Oy. Talk about thoughts becoming things. Cheery music, moving around, like a walk, or dancing a bit, even just flapping my arms around, can help bust that up. Especially when I add in a liberal dollop of Creative Questions.

Why would I choose to lighten up? How could I feel glad? How do I feel when I feel sunny?

When I take time to appreciate the blessings and bounty in my life, when I notice my gratitude, and let myself feel it, I feel good. I feel satisfied and usually I feel more connected to you. My life seems nicer, I feel replete.

I lived with a little cat who was so busy begging for attention that she never noticed when she got it, poor little punkin. I could have her all cuddled up in my arms, and she would still be pawing at my face.

Feeling grateful helps us slow down enough to notice what is going on with us, so we can notice that we are getting what we are asking for, and change what we are asking for if it’s not what we actually want. You might wanna read that again. It’s tricky.

When we slow down a bit, we have room to remember to relax. When we relax we move in closer to our natural lives; easy, satisfying, joyful, creative. Feeling grateful is almost automatic, and the more we find to be grateful for, the more opportunities we have to be grateful.

As we get more proficient in our gratitude practice, we may notice that we find things of value in our challenges. We may notice that a situation is actually a pattern we’ve been playing out for ages. We may realize that in that situation we believe something bad or wrong about ourselves, and can change it. Now that’s something to be grateful for. Or we may notice that we are stronger or smarter than we thought we were. Sometimes, we may find that we’ve been spending time or energy on something that doesn’t even need to be done, or that there is something we haven’t done that would make a nice difference for us.

How have I changed from flying through my life to taking a daily gratitude break?

(c) Pam Guthrie 2014 all rights reserved 01122014