Gratitude is a Super Power
I know sometimes life feels overwhelming or painful or dull or just flat out unenjoyable. So let me start by saying that gratitude is not about putting on rose-colored glasses and pretending life is perfect and all of our needs are met and we’re just so lucky and we shouldn’t complain because other peoples lives are harder, etc. etc. Doesn’t that feel more like gaslighting than gratitude?
Gratitude is not about covering up the hard stuff. It’s about orienting towards what’s good.
Don’t worry, no amount of noticing what's wonderful will stop you from noticing what’s difficult . The “gift” of a vigilant brain designed to keep you alive, is that you will always pay attention to the tough stuff. Which is exactly why gratitude is so important. We need to notice what we love on purpose. Otherwise, we'll be overwhelmed by the challenges in our lives. And being mindful of goodness comes with the additional gift of being even more mindful of goodness.
In other words, every time you practice gratitude, you strengthen the neural networks that help you practice gratitude so it becomes easier and easier to orient towards beauty!
Let’s take a step back from the big things like having a roof over our heads and family members that care about us. Instead let’s get into the nitty-gritty beauty and wonderment of daily life.
For example, this morning, after having the usual argument with myself about whether to go swimming, (which I do every single Tuesday morning), I got my bathing suit on and drove myself to the pool. And like most Tuesday mornings, I jumped in and felt the water flowing over me, and noticed that muffled underwater sound that I love, and after a few laps acknowledged my heart rate, which is not as speedy and much more manageable than it used to be, and I felt a rush of gratitude for my body and a mind that once again was willing to let go of the fight to stay in bed. And the gratitude itself nourished me. Not just the swim, but the bodily experience of gratitude nourished me, and as I recall it now, I am nourished again. And then, this afternoon, after teaching two classes and making it to a meeting sandwiched between them, I made time for a mindfulness class at the UMFA, saw a piece of art differently than I had before, and noticed a slight shift in my gait during walking meditation. And again, that appreciation for having a lovely and direct experience with both beauty and my body swept over me. And so I was fed, not only by the beauty and the pleasant physical sensation of walking, but also by my gratitude for both.
Practicing gratitude nourishes us in so many ways.
It orients us to what is lovely.
It grows the habit of acknowledging and settling into that loveliness.
It activates our prefrontal cortex and turns on our parasympathetic nervous system.
It releases neurochemicals like serotonin and oxytocin that enhance our mood.
It’s a feel-good practice with a positive feedback loop that decreases anxiety and increases optimism.
It even helps us sleep better.
See, I told you gratitude is a super power!
This week consider starting a daily practice as you’re drifting off to sleep, explore the days "highlight reel". Return to the small moments when you felt connected to a loved one or the moment when you felt that small little gasp as the moon rose over the mountains or when you looked up just in time to see that Coopers Hawk take flight or the space you carved out for a cup of tea and a Mary Oliver poem, like this one.
The Place I Want To Get Back To
The place I want to get back to
is where
in the pinewoods
in the moments between
the darkness
and first light
two deer
came walking down the hill
and when they saw me
they said to each other, okay,
this one is okay,
let’s see who she is
and why she is sitting
on the ground like that,
so quiet, as if
asleep, or in a dream,
but, anyway, harmless;
and so they came
on their slender legs
and gazed upon me
not unlike the way
I go out to the dunes and look
and look and look
into the faces of the flowers;
and then one of them leaned forward
and nuzzled my hand, and what can my life
bring to me that could exceed
that brief moment?
For twenty years
I have gone every day to the same woods,
not waiting, exactly, just lingering.
Such gifts, bestowed,
can’t be repeated.
If you want to talk about this
come to visit. I live in the house
near the corner, which I have named
Gratitude.
~Mary Oliver
If you’d like, a little support on your gratitude journey, click on this 5 minute gratitude meditation.
Or if you’d like a deeper dive into gratitude, you can purchase my course The Gift of Gratitude, complete with teachings, meditations, journal prompts, resources and inspirations.
This is a pay it forward course so when you register, I’ll send access to a friend of yours in your name and maybe their gratitude practice will be all about you :-)
In love and gratitude,
Rachel
Here's what's on the horizon...
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