5/12/05: Jumpstarting Gratitude

Sometimes it is difficult to feel gratitude, though we all know it’s in our best interest to. Many of us keep gratitude journals, recording endless lists of things we are grateful for (or think we should be grateful for). Some of us do it each day before going to bed or upon waking up, some only every once in a while when we find the time. Yet, even for the most committed gratitude journalist, feeling grateful and rattling off lists of things we are grateful for doesn’t always go hand in hand.

Gratitude is a state of being that can be achieved by thinking of things we are grateful for, which is why a Gratitude Journal can be a wonderful and effective tool. But if all we do is think and never feel, we are missing the key element. While thinking about gratitude can often lead to feeling gratitude, we must be sure to carry it through to get to the feeling part of it and not stop at just thinking.

If you’re having difficulty getting to the essential feeling part, jumpstart your gratitude by finding one, only one, thing for which you are truly grateful. Whether it is the one object that brings you joy each time you see it, the one person you so love and adore, or the one event, action or circumstance that you feel utterly blessed for having experienced, find that one thing that plugs you in instantly to the feeling of gratitude.

For me, lying in my hammock, watching the birds and squirrels scurry about and listening to the wind sing through the trees immediately brings a sense of serenity, peace and harmony for which I am grateful.

This one simple act jumpstarts gratitude within me and creates a ripple effect that spreads out over all areas of my life. Suddenly I am grateful for something else I hadn’t thought much of only a moment ago, and then something else and on and on.

Before I know it, I no longer need to list things I’m grateful for, I simply AM grateful. Gratitude has embraced me and I am exuding gratitude – for no other reason than simply BEING.

Whenever I want to feel gratitude, I go lay in my hammock. It works every time, faster and more effectively than writing a list.

Whatever your “one thing” is, go do it, see it, taste it, experience it. The more time you spend in it, dwelling on it, feeling it and loving it, the more gratitude you will feel.

It’s not about how many things you can be grateful for, it’s about how much time you spend in gratitude.