LIFE JOURNEY

Easy Ways To Count Your Blessings

Today I am counting my blessings, but before I could, I learned to recognize the goodness in my life. Here are a few things I’ve discovered about the practice of gratitude along the way.

Many people struggle to find inner peace, including me. The road to depression or anxiety is one I know well. I have that map memorized. The path that leads to genuine calm can be harder for me to find.

I would have given up on gratitude years ago except for the thing that keeps dragging me back to it — it feels so damn good. I want to feel good.

When gratitude wells up inside, it’s like falling in love with life. Instinctively inside our hearts, we whisper a joyful “Thank you.”

Gratitude is the unknown comic of the soul. Who else can surprise you with a laugh-out-loud moment just because you feel the sun on your face? Joy, happiness, gleefulness all blossom into one overarching feeling of — you guessed it — gratitude.

I do struggle to find my happy place, but I know the way now. I have learned a couple of shortcuts. Think of these as entrances to the path. You still have to get yourself to that entrance and keep going from there. What I am sharing with you here are nothing more than a few way-finders. May they help lead you to the peaceful place you seek.

It’s Called a Practice for a Reason: Remember that. It will take time to learn any new skill, and gratitude is a skill. For a long time, I thought gratitude was a personality trait or something that would simply “happen,” and then I would “get it.” Not so! Just like the act of forgiveness, the act of gratitude is a muscle that you build over time with consistency and patience. You won’t get there by doing it one time. You’ll have to practice every day. Scoot over six-pack abs. You aren’t the only game in town!

Connect Through Your Body: I can quickly latch onto the love of my sight. If I didn’t have working eyeballs, I’d be demolished. I know many people live good lives without eyesight, but for me, my eyesight is a tool and a gift I never want to take for granted. I imagine life without my sight, and very quickly, I am grateful for my eyes. I find it easy to be thankful for all of my senses. How can I choose a favorite? I can’t. Everything in this world comes to us through our physical senses, even memories. Try conjuring your favorite place, like a sandy beach. The sound of the surf, the sea birds crying, the scent of salt in the air…just typing these words, I took a deep breath. And yes, I feel gratitude for the ocean(s).

Life Without Them/It: When I imagine my life without those I love, it’s easier for me to be grateful for them. We all get comfortable in our routines and take those we love for granted. But, when we stop to think about life without our family, friends, pets, homes, cars…you get the picture. If everything in your life looks like crap, that’s because you have a bad attitude. Hey, bad attitudes happen. But if you actually lost everyone and everything (and trust me, you can lose everyone and everything in a flash), you would find yourself heartbroken. It helps (grumpy people like me) to imagine my life stripped of everything from time to time. That gets me back to grateful quickly.

The Natural World: It cannot be said enough times. This world is the perfect jewel box of the galaxy. We live on a planet full of wonder and still so very unknown. But we don’t have to be brave explorers or buy expensive tickets to appreciate nature’s endless creativity. All we have to do is see the sky, smell the air, touch the leaves or the sand, or pet a house cat. We are part of this natural world. We fool ourselves into believing we have advanced to some other place in the order of things. Not so. Elon Musk is as much a part of the natural world as every farmer on earth, and so are you. Welcome to the club. There are 8 billion members and counting.

Of those 8 billion humans, how many do you think are honestly counting their blessings?

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