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I did my morning routine earlier this year and spent a few minutes glancing at the headlines. This put me on a downer. Negative news sells. Unfortunately. My morning walk helped me shake off the emotional doldrums. I decided on a response that is under my control to counter the bad news. Gratitude. I started off by focusing on what is commonly associated with gratitude. I thought about the many things that I am grateful for in life. My family, my relationships. The many little things that we only notice when they are not there – food on the table, being able to have a hot shower, and, of course, coffee. This was starting to put me in a better state of mind. I then realised that gratitude goes much further than being thankful for WHAT I have. Gratitude should also be given to WHO I am grateful for, and WHAT they do for me. Hans Christian Anderson said, “The whole world is a series of miracles, but we're so used to them we call them ordinary things.” So true. The miracle of spending time in the same house with the same people for many years. But we often take this – and them - for granted. Nothing is permanent. One day, they will be gone. The miracle of people doing little things for us every day. But we often take this for granted. A rich life consists of so many small moments that, unless we consciously notice them, they just pass us by. I now am purposefully grateful to the people close to me who do the many routine things that could easily go unnoticed. The ordinary things - the little miracles. I started thanking my wife when she made the bed in the morning. And now, I find that she thanks me when I do it. We share different tasks around the house. I thank her for washing and folding my clothes. I thank her for cooking a meal. And, she now does the same for me. Gratitude for the little things that we do for each other – the many miracles – is now a part of our way of life. A reflection question for you. How often do you notice and express gratitude to the people who do every day “ordinary”, routine things in your life? It might be your spouse, your parents, your siblings, your friends, your boss, your colleagues, the people who serve you in supermarkets. There are so many ordinary things in our lives that really are miracles to be thankful for. Gratitude has a positive on our health. When we express gratitude, we release “feel good” chemicals in our brain. This means that the expression of gratitude is a way of self-medicating on a happiness drug. If something happens in your life to make you feel down, reach for the elixir that is close at hand - gratitude. And in doing so, it might make your world a better place.
Gratitude fuels the act of leaving a positive legacy
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1moSad but true about negative news being the big news. Totally agree about gratitude though George Aveling as this attitude of gratitude will be able to see us through many of life’s challenges since we DO HAVE much more than we DON’T! My slightly humorous yet very real mantra is “it’s better to be a happy optimist than a miserable realist” .. ha ha! 🙏🏽