Hi,
This is Teresa Conte,
And thank you so much for joining me on this 13th day of 30 Days of Gratitude to Inspire and Uplift You.
Today,
I'd like to share a gratitude practice with you that I've found particularly meaningful in helping me delve down deep into the core of what I'm grateful for.
Sounds good,
Right?
But as always,
I'd like to share a quote with you,
And this one comes from the Dalai Lama.
He said,
The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.
And now,
A thought to ponder.
It's easy to take the good things in our lives for granted.
We may notice them initially,
But after a while,
They may seem commonplace.
But are they really?
One gratitude practice I've found particularly helpful entails writing five things I'm grateful for about one thing.
It may sound confusing,
I agree,
But it's really quite simple.
I'll outline instructions and give you an example in a moment.
But again,
As I mentioned in the beginning,
What I like about this particular practice is that it really helps me go deep into the crux of appreciation for the thing I'm grateful for.
So,
Here's the practice.
In your journal,
Or whatever it is you like to write in,
Write one thing you're grateful for across the top of your page,
Like a heading.
Then,
Under the heading,
Write five things you're grateful for about that one thing.
So,
For instance,
Here's my example.
I'm grateful for my water faucet.
It's something my ancestors didn't have.
My five things about that one thing are,
One,
It provides me with running water.
Two,
It gives me hot as well as cold water at my discretion.
Three,
It makes it easy for me to wash the dishes.
Four,
I can rely on it being there and can use it any time I like.
Five,
I can access it from my apartment,
So no running out to the well.
One of the things that really brings the appreciation home for this particular thing is remembering that my ancestors didn't have this convenience,
And it's so easy to take it for granted.
A water faucet,
Right?
Running water.
There are so many things like that in our environment that we are immune to seeing or acknowledging because we're so used to them.
If you'd like to try this practice,
I suggest doing it once a week for four to six weeks and see what happens.
Maybe you'll develop a deeper appreciation for the simple things in your life that you've been writing about.
It could be as simple as your pen,
An iron,
Your shower,
A house key,
Whatever it might happen to be.
See if your relationship to those things changes at all,
As well as your sense of happiness and appreciation for life in general.
Doing the exercise on the same day,
If possible,
Would be great as a way to help you get into the habit of doing it,
But if you can't or don't do it or you forget,
That's okay.
Just continue the practice for the next weeks.
Pay attention to the little things in your life.
You may be surprised by the blessings they provide you.
What can you appreciate today?
Wishing you a most wonderful day.
