Put your hand up if you find it easy to be dragged down by all the yucky/mundane/boring/crap stuff in life? You know, the things that don't go 'right', the frustrations, gaps, stresses, inconsistencies, lack of time, housework, bills, the daily grind ... yadda, yadda, yadda. I'm betting there are a few hands up. You're not alone.
It's far too easy to lose sight of the things that matter in life, to get carried away by things that are outside of our control or, often, simply do not matter. Yet, in every situation, in every moment, there is something, no matter how small, to be grateful for.
The idea of creating a gratitude practice is one I keep coming across. It started when I began following this wonderful blog: The Spaces Between, where Natalie is halfway into a year of being grateful. Since then, I've bumped into this notion time and time again, most recently in the past week when it's been brought to my attention via the I {Heart} My Daily Practice Summit.
Despite my best efforts and my daily practice of mindfulness, I have to admit that I'm still getting dragged down - by fatigue, daily frustrations and a perceived inability to find enough hours in the day. I think now is a perfect time for some gratitude!
This week I'm going to spend a few minutes every morning and every evening reflecting on the things I'm grateful for. There are many of them, so that shouldn't be terribly challenging. Also, when I find myself upset, frustrated, angry or whatever, I'm going to look for any tiny thing I can be grateful for in that moment.
Research suggests that gratitude practice is a powerful tool - it can increase our happiness, help us to live more presently in the moment and even improve our health. You can read more about that here. In the meantime, I'm off to embrace the countless things I have to be grateful for.
Yay! Loving your gratitude post this week. And honoured to have a little mention. Gratitude really can turn things around. Even when challenges present instead of spiralling into negative if we stop and think about the gratitude in challenges it can really help to move through it.(which I think your little one's 'poo' incident showed!) Nat x
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