Gratitude - It Works!
Being grateful
I tend to cringe a
bit when someone suggests gratitude as a meeting topic. But the truth is
for several months I've been keeping a gratitude list. Like many, I got
the suggestion from one of Oprah's shows... I'm not sure what triggered my
willingness...but what do you know, it works!
Oh, I don't mean that all
my troubles have disappeared, but I do, by and large, feel better about
them.
Gratitude and balance
I suppose the issue here
is really one of balance. There seems to be something in human nature that
makes it easier to focus on the negative than the positive. It may have
something to do with our desire to control things - problems are, or can
seem to be, more interesting than things that are working well. Storms are
more exciting than warm spring days - that sort of thing.
The trick with this sort
of list (which, come to think of it can be used as at least part of the
10th
Step if not all of it some of the time) is to keep it simple. The
three items don't have to be great big things like a ton of money, or a
new love.
Yesterday my list was:
-
warm weather
-
my kitty, MzTiz
-
a night feeding heron
that landed on my boat
Today it's:
-
email from someone
who likes the book
-
my car passing a smog
test
-
an invitation to
dinner tomorrow from my son and daughter-in-law
I've also discovered I
can use the gratitude list mentally when I need a boost, like getting
stuck in traffic or other upsetting situations. When I catch myself
getting upset I just ask 'what am I grateful right now?' It's enough to
change my mood for the better.
Little tricks like this
really help move us into becoming and staying Powerfully Recovered.
In fact, I now sometimes count out 100 or more
things I'm grateful for... here's a
sample list. Love, peace and
abundance,
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