Remind yourself to be grateful and see your day from a whole different perspective. See how this shift in thinking can help you to be happier and to attract more positive experiences into your life.
Thanksgiving is just around the corner so this is a great time of year to check our attitude and see how grateful we are for all the gifts and graces that we enjoy every day.
I’ve talked before about happiness being available in each and every moment and I believe that the same is true of gratitude. Not only that but I believe that they go hand in hand. The more grateful we are, the more things there are to be grateful for and the happier we are.
I believe that this is an innate skill but that we sometimes lose touch with it. Look around you and it’s easy to see why. I spend an afternoon in a mall recently. To put this in context: if there is such a thing as hell and if it’s true that we each have our own personal hell, a la Bill and Ted, then mine will look exactly like a mall. Let’s just say it’s not my natural environment.
One of the things I noticed there was that all of the advertising started with the words, ‘I want…’. Most were funny and designed to promote services on offer to visitors but what made me laugh was that the posters just said what the energy of the whole place was screaming. I want!
I realize that this might sound judgmental but I don’t mean it to be. I’m no more immune from ‘I want’ than anyone else. I suppose it was just interesting to me that the signs were, in a way, so honest. It is the attitude that we have been taught by our culture, to want, want, want. To notice the lack rather than the abundance. To see the things we don’t have and take for granted those that we do.
That day was challenging for me and I know that it would have been easy to be resentful and unhappy but that would only have made me unhappier. It would also have made it hard for those with me to have a good time. Instead, I tried to focus on being grateful, looking for things to water the seed of gratitude in me. I was…
- grateful that I had a healthy and strong body that I could enjoy walking around the mall.
- grateful that I was with people I loved.
- grateful that they were enjoying themselves.
- grateful to enjoy the beautiful eyes and smile of a young woman who helped us.
- grateful that I gave and received smiles as I walked around.
There are a lot of quotations on this subject but here’s one of my favorites.
It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness. – Confucius
This captures the attitude that I’m trying to foster. Just like everyone else I don’t always succeed but it’s my aspiration to see the positive, or to create a positive, rather than dwelling on the negative. Every day provides joyous opportunities to practice, don’t you find?
So when you are next facing challenges, large or small, try to see the things to be grateful for and notice how this shifts your attitude and your day.
Thank you for reading. Wishing you gratitude in each and every moment.
Namaste,
jacquelyn
Join me at the Balanced Life Yoga studio in Uxbridge for a ‘Yogic Thanksgiving’…
Thanksgiving and Gratitude, Friday 14th October. (7.30 pm – 9.00 pm)
Celebrate Thanksgiving with your yoga family! A joyful gratitude practice designed to connect you to a sense of gratitude for all the gifts and graces in your life. Living from a place of gratitude allows us to drop our ‘victim’ story lines and rejoice in our good fortune. Connect to your Higher Self and the best in all those around you with this gentle flowing practice open to all. $25 plus HST
http://www.balancedlifeyoga.ca/home-pages/retreats/uxbridge-workshops/
Jacquelyn is a 500 hour Registered Yoga Teacher and Reiki Level Two practitioner. Yoga has helped her to overcome paralyzing fears and chronic pain and find her true purpose in life. Her focus is on encouraging those around her to have patience, kindness and compassion for themselves and the courage to stand, fearless, in their own light. Jacquelyn has studied meditation and mindfulness in the Shambhala tradition and with Thich Nhat Hanh. She teaches Gentle Yoga, Chakra Flow Yoga, Yoga for Women, Beginners Yoga, Seniors Yoga, Power Yoga, Learn to Meditate and a variety of workshops.
