Metamorphosis

The act of gratitude is occasionally something that we do no stop and take the time to practice daily. With the fast pace of life and work and all of the other never-ending adult responsibilities that we have to handle, it is easy to forget the act of gratitude and small miracles that happen every day.

The act of having a daily gratitude practice has been proven to strengthen the immune system, being more helpful and generous, improving sleep patterns, feeling less lonely and isolated, as well as feeling more joy, pleasure, and optimism. There are several ways to develop a personal gratitude practice. Here are a few ways.

One way to start a gratitude practice is to have a gratitude journal, or even just a simple notebook where you can write down one or several things that you are grateful for this day. It can be something very “small” such as a sunrise or sunset, how someone listened to you when you needed to talk, your pet, a nice breeze, it could be anything! Just to acknowledge the good, versus focusing on the bad is a positive step in growing your sense of gratitude.

Another way to practice gratitude is to remember a time when things were a little or a lot more challenging in your life, and use it for perspective on how far you have come, and what you have in your life to be grateful for. A lot of the times, we forget how fortunate we are. Just to possess the simple things we often times overlook: having clean water, food on the table and a safe home environment are more than most people on the planet have.

Another way to practice gratitude is to notice and show appreciation and gratitude when others express acts of kindness towards us. When we are busy or distracted it is easy to unintentionally bypass saying thank you, giving a hug, or simple acknowledgement towards anyone who does something kind for you. Let us take the time today to either cultivate a personal gratitude practice or simply find something or someone to be grateful for.