I have been reminded lately of just how intense the power of gratitude really is and I wanted to share this attitude of gratitude with you today.
Giving thanks and being grateful is not something that is new to me, in fact I have been ‘counting my blessings’ since I was old enough to do this. My mum instilled the power of gratitude inside of me from a very, very young age and I have carried it with me ever since. We always gave thanks for the food we had everyday before we ate it and every year at Christmas Mum would give me a “Gratitude Diary” that she used to make herself with fun family pictures alongside little love notes from her with instructions to write down 5 things I was grateful for everyday. It could be anything from having a roof over my head to passing an exam at school or not missing the bus (which I was renowned for doing). I still have all of these old childhood gratitude diary’s and when I reflect on them and read all the creative things I wrote down as a child it brings warmth to my heart and tears to my eyes as I know not everyone had a childhood as fortunate as mine and it still pains me to think of all the suffering that goes on in on this planet today. However I was so fortunte that Mum showed me gratitude, something that would become a very powerful tool in my own personal healing journey throughout my life.
Even though I have always had a gratitude practice it was always through the eyes of a child and I never really stopped and thought about the enormous power that lies in counting ones blessings and living life with an appreciative and open heart. It was not until I became an emotionally wounded adult seeking help, guidance and support that I fully realized what an intense power gratitude brings us in our own personal healing and how this simple remedy can in fact, change our lives.
This knowing came into light for me through the teachings of one of my all time, hands down favourite teachers, Caroline Myss. Through her work she explains that gratitude and appreciation doesn’t really count when everything is going smoothly in your life. It is easy to see the blessings on a perfect summers day when your at the beach with your friends and everything is just hunky dory. Myss believes that gratitude only counts when you are down in your own darkness and can barely see or feel the light around you, that’s when we really feel the enormous powerful healing benefits behind appreciation and giving thanks.
I experienced this first hand a few years ago. I had gone through an enormously painful experience in my life and I felt broken on all levels. My physical health was completely unbalanced and I could not walk on my own (literally because I had a broken foot). Emotionally I was a mess and the ‘black night of the soul’ kind of darkness had set in, I barely saw any light around me. It was confronting, scary as hell and deeply painful. Then after talking to my Mum one evening on Skype she rattled off a list of things I had to be grateful for and in an instant I felt better. So during this painful time in my life I returned to my childhood practices of writing down 5 things I was grateful for everyday and in my darkest hours I fully realized the enormous powerful healing potential of having gratitude. I realised that when we get knocked off centre by life’s cosmic curveballs it can be hard to see the blessings around us and sometimes we even forget. But gratitude has a lightness that it sheds within us and reminds us of all we have to be appreciative for.
In a moment of darkness this appreciation becomes a lifeline; a small little opening where the light can re-enter us.
It is easy to see the ‘good’ when things are great, smooth and flowing in our lives but when you can find the ‘good’ in the darkest, hardest and most challenging days then that simple thought and recognition can yield powerful shifts on a energetic and cellular level in our biochemistry. It has the potential to assist in our healing and lead us closer into restoring balance and finding the peace and love within us again.
[Tweet “You have so much to be grateful for”]
You know how to read for starters as you are reading this blog, and you have a computer or smart phone in which you are reading this on, another thing to be grateful for. It just flows and flows and flows….
Please take the time to appreacite and give thanks for the wonderful world that is around you and within you; the smile of a stranger, finding a parking space on a busy day in the middle of a city, beautiful family and friends that warm your heart and make your life that little bit more magic and juicy.
So I ask you….
What 5 things are you grateful for in your life today?
Let me know in the comments below as I would love to hear your gratitude stories and prayers.
I will leave you with some beautiful words that Adabella Radici wrote,
“As each day comes to us refreshed and anew, so does my gratitude renew itself daily. The breaking of the sun over the horizon is my grateful heart dawning upon a blessed world.”
Today I am grateful for you,
PS. I was fortunate enough to come by a beautiful Lady named Emily who asked me to be a part of her online Gratitude Journals project, (where this pic of me is from) She has such a cute site and concept, check it out here and submit your own story.
If you want to listen to one of my Hero’s Caroline Myss talk about Gratitude check out this video here
Five things I’m grateful for today: being pregnant – I didn’t think this would happen for me, my husband and my puppy I couldn’t live without them, for the greenspace around my house – I’m so lucky to be close to nature, that it isn’t snowing – it’s raining, but at least that’s more spring like, and I’m grateful for my family and friends who support me, comfort me, and take the time to love me.
Congratulations on your pregnancy Krystal, wishing you a beautiful time ahead…very exciting xx
5 things: the space and time to work on my biz, a loving partner, a loving family, having great health and an inspiring community of friends. Thank you for your story and your prompt. 🙂
you’re so welcome, thanks for sharing
Beautiful post! I’ve really been working on being grateful over the last month. 5 things i am grateful for.
1. Finding like minded people.
2. Amazing business partners
3. My husband and beautiful children
4. My mum and dad, who raised me to believe I could do anything I wanted to do if it made me happy
5. I am soooooo grateful for the realisation that being busy and stressed is NOT a badge of honour. In fact it makes me unhappy and miserable, so I’ve given myself permission to change.
I LOVE your number 5 Sam, its so important and when I realised this it changed my life.
I Love this post!! – especially more so because it talks about the Power of Gratitude – which is something i live by! I loved the emphasis on being grateful not only during the good times, because you’re right that come easily. Its when you are down in the dumps – thats when its more potent and powerful. So the 5 things i’m grateful for: *Famiy – even if at times we may clash! 🙂
*Wonderful, amazing, supportive and inspiring friends offline and online that i’m feel so blessed for – kindred spirits;
*my home;
*good health and food
*my spirituality that gets me through lives challenges
I could list off many more.. but this is a good start and you only asked for 5 🙂 xx
Love this post Kate, finding the gratitude when times are hard is the change maker. I’ve been tweeting my 5 things to be grateful for daily. It keeps me more accountable somehow and I try to focus o the little everyday things, that actually if they were taken away, I would miss the most. I tweet as @sarahloucoops and use the hashtag #GratitudeDaily My last tweet: #GratitudeDaily @5THINGSaDAY being cooked for, time to write, apple pie, reading with my son, cheese on toast
Great! Love the tweets xx
Five things I am thankful for today:
1. Having a great job that allows me flexibility and where I can help others everyday and have fun!
2. The beautiful sun shining (I live in MN and it’s been a horrible winter – so happy it’s finally getting warm and sunny)
3. Great friends – just returned from a relaxing weekend at a friend’s cabin and am so refreshed. So thankful for the women I hung out with!
4. Having two amazing daughters who are growing up to be wonderful adults.
5. Living in a vibrant and wonderful community. I am so lucky!
Beautiful! sunshine is always on my list too. xx
1. My husband and best friend 2. My health 3. My supportive network of friends, family, and mentors 4. Having completed my certification as a health coach to live my professional passion 5. Blogs like this that remind me to be grateful!!!
Love this Stacey, thanks for sharing xx