“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.”
How often do you stop and really express your gratitude? It is so easy to get caught up in the many things that may be creating challenges in your day, your week, your life that the wonderful things that are happening may get overlooked.
There are thousands and indeed millions of events taking place every minute of every day that are small miracles, expressions of kindness, new inventions and innovations that will help humanity and the planet and so much more. These may be very small and simple things like the annual blooming of the spring flowers or the fact that someone lets you out in front of them in the traffic jam. They may be more significant things like the healthy recovery of a loved one after an illness.
The truth is that we have more reasons to be grateful in life than reasons to be miserable. Even the so-called challenges and pressures contain a gift – an opportunity to grow, to establish a new perspective, to see beauty in a situation or another human being that we maybe wouldn’t have seen otherwise.
This isn’t about being a ‘Pollyanna’ but to remind each of us that gratitude is in fact a very healthy practise. It builds optimism, it supports hope, it opens the heart and creates connection. Leading from the place of thankfulness and celebration for the beauty and joy that exists in our lives, if we can only stop and appreciate it, is a powerful way to help others to do the same.
There are studies that show that by expressing gratitude we change the neural structures in the brain and we feel happier. It helps healing through its power of purification.
Stepping into gratitude does mean we have to silence the inner critic. We do need to stop making comparisons with ‘our neighbours;’ where we think the grass is greener elsewhere. We must learn to be in the present moment and enjoy all that our life contains. This in turn will help simplify our global culture, taking us away from the need to have more things or make things different and be present with the beauty that is already present.
Spreading a culture of happiness opens the doors to a virtuous circle where more positive action is created and bit by bit we find ourselves in a life where blessings are commonplace, creating a better world for all.