Gratitude…it’s the buzzword of the moment. How do you define gratitude? For me, gratitude is a positive emotion. It’s that warm feeling you get inside when you show kindness to others.
When we talk about being grateful for things, it can’t just be words. You must feel that warm feeling and sit in it. This is the only way that being grateful can change your life.
One of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves and our children is gratitude. It can take us from worry or fear to a peaceful, safe feeling. It’s the one tool that’s accessible every day. Taking a few moments to focus on all you have, rather than complaining about what you don’t have, is one of the simplest ways to improve your satisfaction with life.
How can we gift gratitude to others? With children, it’s important to remember that they emulate our behaviour. Therefore, not only remembering to thank our children when they show kindness or help us around the house, but also lead by example by reminding them how grateful we are that they are in our lives.
We must model gratitude for small things, such as breathing and greeting the sunrise. Show them how lucky we are to have a job to go to every day, have food on the table, or be in nature. Gratitude is not only about being grateful for material things; those things will come and go. We must be grateful for this moment, whatever it is.
When we show gratitude to family, friends, or work colleagues, it helps to build connections. Saying thank you and showing appreciation helps build healthy relationships. When we thank people, they are more likely to seek an ongoing relationship. But most importantly, it makes people feel good, and who doesn’t want to make someone’s day a little brighter?
What I’ve witnessed is gratitude improves our physical health. When I teach my adult classes and have them practice it consistently for six weeks, they see fewer aches and pains and report feeling happier, less negative, and healthier overall. In a couple of minutes of feeling grateful, our heart rate slows down, which tremendously impacts our nervous system. Now who doesn’t want to feel healthier?
What about giving the gift of gratitude to ourselves? We can thank our bodies for getting us where we need to go, our eyes for letting us watch our children grow, our ears for hearing music, our bodies for giving birth, and so on. We need to be as gentle and compassionate with ourselves as we are with others.
Gratitude can change our lives if we make it a consistent part of our day. Before our feet even hit the floor in the morning, we can say five things we’re grateful for, starting with waking up. We can list one thing we’re each grateful for as we sit at the dinner table. Make gratitude part of your child’s bedtime routine, get a gratitude journal, and have a gratitude jar. There are many ways to practice gratitude as a family.
I’d like to end with one of my favourite quotes by Eckhart Tolle:
“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”
Until next time…Thank you