The Power of Gratitude
If you can only spare five minutes in your day, let it be Gratitude – Paulette Evans
At 25, I got a tattoo that reads "truly blessed," and now that I'm 40, I've been practicing gratitude for quite some time. While my approach to gratitude has changed over the years, that tattoo remains a constant reminder of my blessings. Back then, it helped me appreciate the amazing family and friends I had around me during tough times. It also allowed me to feel blessed when something unexpected worked out in my favour.
I personally think gratitude is one of the so most powerful and profound practices you can do, practicing gratitude can help shift our focus away from negative thoughts and emotions, and instead, help us to see the good in our lives. It can improve our mental health, reduce stress, and enhance our overall sense of fulfilment.
It's important to note that practicing gratitude doesn't mean ignoring the challenges and difficulties we face in life. Rather, it means approaching those challenges with a mindset of resilience and positivity, and recognizing that even in the darkest of moments, there is always something to be grateful for.
I now practice gratitude twice a day, I’m not a journal type of person, not because I think there’s anything wrong with it, it’s just not suited to me and how I like to do it. Everyone is different and if you are just starting out then try different ways and see what feels more natural to you.
I like to do my morning gratitude on my dog walk, I just go through a little list of all what I’m grateful for, so I start by saying….Dear Angels, Dear Universe thank you for blessing me with this beautiful day (I’m not referring to the weather when I say ‘beautiful day’, I’m affirming that I’ AM’ going to have a beautiful day) This is also to do with the subconscious mind but that’s a whole other post so ill talk about that soon.
· I am grateful for getting woken up by my daughter at 5am wearing a space outfit and scaring the life out of me, it has giving us a funny memory to laugh about and share.
· I am grateful for waking up healthy and well.
· I am grateful for being able to take this lovely walk-in nature with Luna and hearing the birds sing.
If the sun is shining and I’m going through my gratitude list, I can sometimes get a bit carried away. I close my eyes, enjoy the sun on my face and throw my arms up in the air. I don’t know why, but it feels liberating & free. A good little tip if you feel silly doing this is just pretend you’re stretching and no one will ever know.
For my evening gratitude I light a candle and have a relaxing salt bath with our ‘Gratitude’ set of course, the essential oil blend brings mood-boosting, uplifting effects that can help to bring a little happiness and fulfilment to your day. I go through a little list of the things that I am grateful for that’s happened throughout my ‘beautiful day’ because remember I ‘affirmed’; I was going to have a beautiful day today. I do this why I am in the bath or when I get into bed, now I’m going to be completely honest, quite often I fall asleep halfway through doing this which isn’t a bad thing at all because my little evening gratitude routine has helped me relax and drift of into a nice sleep thinking positive thoughts, which is perfect for the subconscious mind. For the ones that didn’t quite make the list that night, I just add them onto the morning session.
However when your practicing gratitude be sure to do it with emotion, don’t just reel of a list quickly with no true meaning, when you’re thinking of all the things you are grateful for and doing it with emotion, your notice a smile start creeping on your face or a nice feeling in your heart.
Try doing this for a week and notice the difference it makes to your mood, your day & how you react to situations.
I would love to hear in the comments below how Gratitude is helping you.
‘Gratitude is like a magnet; the more grateful you are the more you will receive to be grateful for’ - Iyanla Vanzant