I’m grateful… Are you?

What exactly are we grateful for?  From where I’m sitting there’s a long list of things we should be grateful for but many of us are in such a rush trying to keep up with our idea of “life” that we just don’t see them.  My inspiration for this article came from reading “Good times and gratitude”, an article written by The Mad Nomads.  They understand the whole gratitude thing and wrote about it beautifully.

Now I know many people are doing it tough and are probably wondering exactly what it is that they should be grateful for but I truly believe that we could all express a little gratitude daily.  You see, we’re not talking about being grateful for a big house, a high paying job, beautiful jewellery or a fancy car.  It’s the simple things in the present that we need to be focusing on.

It seems that the gratitude mindset is very popular at the moment.  I love the idea of keeping a gratitude journal and in January this year I set out to hopefully complete one for 2014.  On some days gratitude comes easily to me, other days I really have to think – which is the whole point of doing this exercise.  It makes you aware that there are indeed many small things to be thankful for.  Of course being grateful for family, friends, good health and a roof over your head are the big-ticket items that most of us would put at the top of our list.  But try writing your journal daily without repeating yourself and you’ll find a myriad of simple pleasures are waiting to be discovered.

My routine is to write in my journal before going to sleep each night.  Some nights I crawl into bed feeling bushed and perhaps a bit miffed at the day’s events.  I take out my journal and ponder the good stuff that the day brought.  You can do it – simple things evoke real feelings of gratitude!

After a very hot day recently I went to bed feeling completely exhausted and a tad ticked off with the heat.  The feel of those cool cotton sheets as I slid into bed was heaven!

On another occasion I’d had a rather ordinary day and was feeling a bit average.  My daughter’s new puppy jumped into my lap and covered me in puppy kisses and my day suddenly turned around.  A drive into the country to my hairdresser, playing silly games with my two year old nephew, a lovely meal cooked by someone else, water lilies flowering in the pond at the Botanic Gardens, a cup of tea in bed in the morning made by my hubby, the luxury of time to spend with family and friends – you see how easy it really is once you’re aware?

Focus on the present, be mindful and it’s amazing what you’ll see!  We spend too much time mourning the past and worrying about what might happen in the future.  I recently heard a Buddhist monk explaining that we shouldn’t dwell on the past as it is part of our present and that worrying about the future is of no value as it is not yet here.   Why is it that Buddhist monks always seem so calm and wise?  I don’t know but I’m grateful for their advice!

“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future or anticipate troubles, but to live in the presently moment wisely and earnestly.” 

What makes you feel grateful?  Do you agree with Buddha or are you skeptical?