So, it’s been a while. Writing posts that can be read publicly is certainly more intimidating than writing in my private journal, yet there are so many things I write in my journal that I think ‘oh, that would be perfect to write a blog post about’. Well, consider this the first of those. Yesterday in my morning meditation, the guiding voice asked me to consider something I did well in the past week – to remember the feeling it gave me and let that fill me up so I can take it forward into the coming week. The problem was, I had a lot of trouble thinking of something that went well during the past week. In fact, I had trouble even remembering what I did during the previous week. Being asked to do this on the spot in the middle of a guided meditation and then not being able to think of anything felt quite disheartening! The more I thought, the more I could bring up all the things I felt I had done wrong the past week, or that hadn’t gone well, or times I’d felt anxious or unhappy. I finally managed to remember a couple of days in which I had some lovely family time celebrating a special occasion, but even thinking about this – the first feelings I could bring up were the fact I’d felt a bit out-of-sorts that day because I hadn’t done my morning meditation or journalling, which usually grounds me into the day, or because my eating habits were very unhealthy that day meaning I felt groggy and could feel the effect of that in my body. It was a wonderful day spent with family, why was it the first feelings I could remember from that day were negative ones? 

This got me thinking about the concept of gratitude. Nowadays, gratitude has become quite the buzzword – many wellness professionals will encourage the practice of gratitude. One can buy dedicated gratitude journals, or your bog-standard journal may well have a little box in one corner in which to write a couple of things you are thankful for that day. The word ‘gratitude’ is thrown around plenty, but what does it actually mean and why should you ‘practise’ it? 

The Oxford dictionary defines gratitude as: “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness”. Inherent to this quality is also the ability to be aware, or mindful of ones activities and actions, in order to be grateful for them. This seemed to be exactly my problem during that guided meditation – I hadn’t focused on being aware of the positive feelings during the week, to be able to notice them and recall them in that meditation space. After all the mindful practice I’m endeavouring to do, this could easily be felt as a failure. Of course I couldn’t be grateful for something I hadn’t even noticed! Nevertheless, after some pondering, it was possible to bring up those positive feelings I’d experienced and therefore be grateful for them, then as the meditation prompted, allow myself to carry them forward into the next week with me. 

It is pretty amazing how many things you could list when really prompted to detail everything you are grateful for. Try it now. You may find you start off with big, ‘obvious’ things, such as expensive possessions, your house, your loved ones, your pet etc, but as you examine each little thing you do each day, the list could go into minute detail – there is clean air for you to breathe, water for you to drink and wash with, access to food to nourish your body, electricity to make your life easier, internet access to allow you to be reading this blog post! You see where I’m going with this… everything can be broken down into seemingly small aspects which you can be grateful for and when you really consider them all, it shouldn’t be hard to realise the privilege you have. When adopting this mindset towards your life, you are shifting the perspective to focusing on those things that bring positive emotions, rather than the negatives. Today’s society thrives on telling you the negatives in your life – think about it: advertising will try to point out how you are missing something and therefore need to spend your money on XYZ to be/feel/look better, because what you currently are is not enough; constant exposure to media of all kinds allows us to compare our lives with those of everyone else, mostly highlighting what you lack. No wonder we don’t notice the positives!

This is why it is a good idea to ‘practise’ gratitude. As with any activity you want to improve, or skill you wish to learn, being grateful and focusing on this in your daily life is something that takes practice. This is especially important if simply by reading this post you have realised how much your brain is wired to focus on negatives; that’s ok – that means you’re mindful of your own thoughts and feelings, which is great! It is also why products like gratitude journals exist and are a good idea if you’re starting out and would like guidance – although you by no means need to go out and spend money on a specific gratitude journal to be able to practise gratitude. I suggest starting by simply writing 3 things that you feel thankful for, or have appreciated in your life. Now if you are doing your practice in the morning, I’d suggest focusing on the day before, whereas if you are practising at night, you can reflect on the day that has just finished. If you have time, you could do both morning and evening! There are no rules, this is your chance to focus your mind on positive aspects of your life, the overall idea being that with time, this practice re-wires your brain to notice these things first, or at least more than the negatives. 

So, have a go today at writing a short list of things you are grateful for, remembering how those things make you feel, so you can carry those feelings with you as you go about your day. Start trying to be more aware of how the different activities in your day make you feel – this is mindfulness in action! I will be creating more resources relating to gratitude if this is a practice you are interested in, so watch this space… for now, have a wonderful day and be grateful for it! X