November Theme: Attitude of Gratitude
A segment of the monthly newsletter is a theme and this blog post is an enhancement to that section. Each theme is an invitation and encouragement meant to help the reader better connect to themselves. Please note that the selected themes can be reflected upon at any time and are not limited to the timing of the specific newsletter or blog post publication.
Theme: Attitude of Gratitude
This month’s theme is Attitude of Gratitude and the invitation is to explore the ways in which you can cultivate more gratitude in your life. This isn’t about using gratitude as a way to diminish or gaslight life’s challenges, but is about using gratitude in the both/and sense: you can be both grateful and want things to be different, better, easier, smoother, etc... Gratitude is not meant to take over, it is meant to live in connection to and alongside the murkier parts of life. This month, the theme is encouraging you to shed a little more light on those spaces, places, and people where gratitude can bloom and spread with your loving attention and intention. With awareness of all that you have to be grateful for comes the freedom to show up more fully and joyfully. Not every day is a win, but there is a pocket of gratitude somewhere in the day that reminds you of the precious gift of the present moment.
Practices for Reflection
Take time daily for some kind of gratitude practice. Practices can include starting or ending your day by listing three things you are grateful for, creating a gratitude jar with daily deposits, setting up a gratitude circle with dear friends and family, or finishing the sentence “Today I am grateful for…” There are a few more suggestions here, but if none of those practices speak to you, then take five deep breaths and be grateful for those breaths that are reminders of your aliveness.
Personal Reflection
Gratitude is my jam and one of my top (if not top) values. For me, gratitude is more than just being thankful, it’s about seeing the light spots in the dark spaces. Focusing on what I have to be grateful for is a grounding practice that reminds me of what truly matters to me. Things will come and go. Situations will come to pass. There is so much I lack control over. But practicing gratitude reminds me that I can flow through life without resisting and that I do have the power to control not only my attitude, but my perspective.
Gratitude, however, can get tricky when it is used to invalidate one’s experience or diminish the impact of someone else’s actions or words. You can’t use “be grateful” to excuse “it could be worse” or any statement that starts with “at least” (“At least this didn’t happen.” “At least you are ok.”). Like I wrote in the Theme section of this post, gratitude doesn’t take over or make other feelings disappear. Gratitude is a tool in our emotional toolboxes that is 100% unique to each person. The things I am grateful for in my life may very well be different than the things you are grateful for and that’s perfectly ok! It’s also ok to have gratitude change from day-to-day as things on your gratitude list shift in response to life’s happenings. Most days I am grateful for my children, but there are also days when I am grateful to be away from my children. It’s the both/and of it all. I can be both grateful for my children and need space from them.
There are many ways to practice gratitude. Normally, my practice of gratitude includes daily journaling and diving deep into gratitude when life feels chaotic. This month, however, I am also practicing gratitude through #GratitudeMile2022. This is a challenge I did back in November of 2022 and the goal is to move the body for one mile daily (running, walking, skating, whatever you can think of!). Each mile is a time to reflect on what gratitude means to you and to celebrate all that makes you feel grateful. I invite you to join me for this journey through gratitude.
