I just feel more aware, less anxiety and able to live my life more fully. Tonight I worked my seasonal retail job and realized just how nice everyone is there and everyone helps each other out. I worked with 2 others that are also new and I felt more at ease. I met someone that used to work at my FT Company so we had a fun conversation talking about people we know. I am glad I was bold enough to act on it and I am doing it! In the long run I think I would like to work part time some hours after I retire. I feel it is good for my mental and physical health especially in the dark short days of winter right now.
How? Slowly. I’ve recently begun trying to weave a more conscious practice of gratefulness into my days. I’ve been given a life that, for a little time at least, gives me time and space to do that. It’s still a slugfest – anxiety and fear push, sometimes I don’t push back but sink into the quiet, others, I go into reflexive anxiety, but it’s getting better, one day at a time.
I think by being tempered with the life experiences that bring some humility to realize I don’t know everything. I think when I was younger, though in all fairness I still struggle with this, I thought I had a lot figured out so when things went wonky, instantly it seemed the worst ever as it went against what I thought needed to happen — the older I get the more I see I don’t have all the answers so it’s hard to say for sure what today’s bad news could mean a year from now. It’s like Gordon Ramsay, he only really went into becoming a chef due to an injury as he was intent on becoming a pro-athlete, things you think are really bad today could possibly with time be viewed differently.
May as well try to be pre-emptively grateful, like I don’t yet know how this is going to be positive but I’ll be thankful for this situation because maybe it will be a good thing with time? My gratefulness has expanded into considering there’s experiences and ways life can move that I may not plan that way but can still be really good. That is very much a work in progress way to see things though … very much so haha.
I have been on and off of this site since 2016.
I feel more conscious of gratefulness in my life
since I retired in 2020 than I did when I was working.
When I was working I pushed myself much harder,
and the days felt fast and almost nonstop.
So now I make my own schedule.
In the morning when I open the curtains I feel grateful.
I have also come to be more grateful of my husband.
I judge him less and look at him with more tenderness,
and when I feel he is harsh,
I put more effort into understanding why he feels the way he does.
Then I can talk to him from a more peaceful, less defensive place.
Recently I have begun the ritual of answering the Daily Question
This has been an inspiring, enriching and connecting experience.
And I love feeling connected to all of you.
Each day I try to keep my openness to awe, wonder and gratefulness activated.
This is my practice as I see it now.
Wishing much joy and peace to all, on this lovely Wednesday.
Peace
The way you describe it,
dear Mary,
is that your gratitude
has opened you up like a flower,
petals opening slowly,
one after the other,
each one opening to more gratitude,
which is much the same as it works for me…
so beautiful and natural,
once the habit of practice is set in place.
It works,
and is self propelling…
I have been keeping a gratitude journal
for over 30 years,
and find new wonders every day
with love…♥
Thank you Sparrow for this beautiful way
to visualize opening to gratefulness.
I spent a lot of time trying to articulate
how my gratefulness practice has evolved over time.
I wrote and wrote and then realized
I haven’t had a gratefulness practice
since I stopped writing in regularly to this website.
But then I have been taking the classes here pretty regularly.
So I think my intention to live gratefully
combined with whatever classes I have taken and
my sharing on this website-
All of this has nurtured my growth in living gratefully.
As of the last few weeks, I have a daily ritual of answering the Daily Question.
This is my practice
Now I will watch as I open myself to gratefulness each day.
Thank you Sparrow for taking the time
to look at what I was trying to say
and mirroring it back to me so beautifully.
Much love to you. ♥️♥️♥️
I don’t really have an answer accept to say that it has calmed my fears and even when I’m challenged by pain or circumstances, looking for that for which I can be grateful is automatic. Gratefulness is always upper most in my mind in all situations. A question that often arises in any situation is: What can I learn from this.? Visiting this site and sharing with others each day has nurtured this. Do I still get nervous and agitated from time to time? Yes, but I tend to watch it instead of BE it!
I love the question you ask yourself in any situation- What can I learn from this.
Yes! How very wise and accepting of life this question is!
I know about asking this question, but I don’t think I’ve been asking this of myself for quite a while.
Thank you so very much, Carol!
Accepting things is not my strong point. (An understatement)
This question will truly take my thinking in the direction of acceptance!
That’s a good question. I’m not sure it has evolved and maybe this is the prompt I need to think about it in a more wholistic way. Maybe ask myself what I would like it to look like.
I do appreciate this opportunity to reflect every morning and It has made a difference in my life.
Like Carol said, soo many great insights today when I have time I want to sit with so many chosen words and quotes shared today. Thank you!
With that I say my gratefulness practice has evolved from simply thinking silent “ thank yous” when I was you g to starting my day on this site learning and becoming aware how to live with a grateful heart. I need to increase my pauses throughout the mundane daily moments. But I have learned to embrace the moments outside, early morning self reflection and prayer and noticing that even bad moments have a grateful lesson.
I think now that gratefulness has become part of my way of thinking and feeling it can only get stronger with practice.
My gratefulness practice has become an integral part of my life. It’s an important & necessary component of my daily living. It is how I choose to live my life.
I give thanks upon arising, give thanks as I am going to sleep & all thru my day.
Gratefulness for me is how I choose to be in the world. 🙏🏻✨🙏🏻
I think that most of my conscious idea of a “gratefulness practice” has been associated with this grateful.com webpage.
I first discovered the Network for Grateful Living about 7 years ago when a friend told me about it. At first, my gratefulness practice was mostly reading the daily quotes and reading the articles/poems or watching the videos posted on the site.
I also experimented on my own for two years with a monthly calendar where I would write in the little box for the day something noteworthy (often something that I was grateful for) that happened or that I noticed that day. That brought me nourishment for two years (and I still have the calendars as a wonderful record to look back at), but then got old.
I also gave conscious attention to gratefulness when I was going through the free self-paced https://activehope.training/ video course with Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone. I highly recommend this course!! This teaches the Work that Reconnects, and one of the steps in the spiral of the Work that Reconnects is “coming from gratitude”.
Most recently, for the past two months or so, I have been getting more intentional with my gratefulness practice; writing out the answers to these daily questions, interacting with this lovely community and letting myself be nourished by you all’s wisdom, and also reading Kristi Nelson’s book “Wake up Grateful: the Transformative Practice of Taking Nothing for Granted”
Gratefulness has become a lens for my mindfulness practice. When I tune into what is really here, now, I’m grateful for the circumstances that allow me to pause, for the ways my life is enriched and supported by so many others, for the glories of the world around me, for hot coffee and a warm cat on my lap in the morning.
My mom raised her six kids with her attitude of appreciation, which for her came from growing up during the Depression. I’ve always known that rather than thinking of a glass as half full or half empty, I can instead be glad I have a glass. She also raised me to understand that not everyone is so lucky. My gratefulness sits alongside my understanding of privilege, which brings my gratefulness into sharp focus.
The more I practice gratefulness, the more my capacity to notice expands, and the more I seek out opportunities to practice. I also find that the practices seep in over time, such that I continue to find interest and intrigue. Such a wonderful antidote to today’s addictive technology and isolation.
I’m able to adapt to my environment quicker making me confident in multiple social settings. Anything can happen. Just a few months ago, I never thought I’d become an extrovert, but here I am. My Vietnamese community has taken my voice seriously. All I need to do is to put myself out there. Actions speak louder than words, but words also carry weight.
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Im more aware and more grateful for what god has gave us. Ive been more thankful instead of otherwise.
I just feel more aware, less anxiety and able to live my life more fully. Tonight I worked my seasonal retail job and realized just how nice everyone is there and everyone helps each other out. I worked with 2 others that are also new and I felt more at ease. I met someone that used to work at my FT Company so we had a fun conversation talking about people we know. I am glad I was bold enough to act on it and I am doing it! In the long run I think I would like to work part time some hours after I retire. I feel it is good for my mental and physical health especially in the dark short days of winter right now.
How? Slowly. I’ve recently begun trying to weave a more conscious practice of gratefulness into my days. I’ve been given a life that, for a little time at least, gives me time and space to do that. It’s still a slugfest – anxiety and fear push, sometimes I don’t push back but sink into the quiet, others, I go into reflexive anxiety, but it’s getting better, one day at a time.
I think by being tempered with the life experiences that bring some humility to realize I don’t know everything. I think when I was younger, though in all fairness I still struggle with this, I thought I had a lot figured out so when things went wonky, instantly it seemed the worst ever as it went against what I thought needed to happen — the older I get the more I see I don’t have all the answers so it’s hard to say for sure what today’s bad news could mean a year from now. It’s like Gordon Ramsay, he only really went into becoming a chef due to an injury as he was intent on becoming a pro-athlete, things you think are really bad today could possibly with time be viewed differently.
May as well try to be pre-emptively grateful, like I don’t yet know how this is going to be positive but I’ll be thankful for this situation because maybe it will be a good thing with time? My gratefulness has expanded into considering there’s experiences and ways life can move that I may not plan that way but can still be really good. That is very much a work in progress way to see things though … very much so haha.
Very good reflection 😔
I have been on and off of this site since 2016.
I feel more conscious of gratefulness in my life
since I retired in 2020 than I did when I was working.
When I was working I pushed myself much harder,
and the days felt fast and almost nonstop.
So now I make my own schedule.
In the morning when I open the curtains I feel grateful.
I have also come to be more grateful of my husband.
I judge him less and look at him with more tenderness,
and when I feel he is harsh,
I put more effort into understanding why he feels the way he does.
Then I can talk to him from a more peaceful, less defensive place.
Recently I have begun the ritual of answering the Daily Question
This has been an inspiring, enriching and connecting experience.
And I love feeling connected to all of you.
Each day I try to keep my openness to awe, wonder and gratefulness activated.
This is my practice as I see it now.
Wishing much joy and peace to all, on this lovely Wednesday.
Peace
The way you describe it,
dear Mary,
is that your gratitude
has opened you up like a flower,
petals opening slowly,
one after the other,
each one opening to more gratitude,
which is much the same as it works for me…
so beautiful and natural,
once the habit of practice is set in place.
It works,
and is self propelling…
I have been keeping a gratitude journal
for over 30 years,
and find new wonders every day
with love…♥
Thank you Sparrow for this beautiful way
to visualize opening to gratefulness.
I spent a lot of time trying to articulate
how my gratefulness practice has evolved over time.
I wrote and wrote and then realized
I haven’t had a gratefulness practice
since I stopped writing in regularly to this website.
But then I have been taking the classes here pretty regularly.
So I think my intention to live gratefully
combined with whatever classes I have taken and
my sharing on this website-
All of this has nurtured my growth in living gratefully.
As of the last few weeks, I have a daily ritual of answering the Daily Question.
This is my practice
Now I will watch as I open myself to gratefulness each day.
Thank you Sparrow for taking the time
to look at what I was trying to say
and mirroring it back to me so beautifully.
Much love to you. ♥️♥️♥️
I pay attention more to the wonderful things all around me and I count my blessings more naturally like the flow of nature.
I don’t really have an answer accept to say that it has calmed my fears and even when I’m challenged by pain or circumstances, looking for that for which I can be grateful is automatic. Gratefulness is always upper most in my mind in all situations. A question that often arises in any situation is: What can I learn from this.? Visiting this site and sharing with others each day has nurtured this. Do I still get nervous and agitated from time to time? Yes, but I tend to watch it instead of BE it!
I love the question you ask yourself in any situation- What can I learn from this.
Yes! How very wise and accepting of life this question is!
I know about asking this question, but I don’t think I’ve been asking this of myself for quite a while.
Thank you so very much, Carol!
Accepting things is not my strong point. (An understatement)
This question will truly take my thinking in the direction of acceptance!
That’s a good question. I’m not sure it has evolved and maybe this is the prompt I need to think about it in a more wholistic way. Maybe ask myself what I would like it to look like.
I do appreciate this opportunity to reflect every morning and It has made a difference in my life.
I always love to read your responses, Charlie.
Like Carol said, soo many great insights today when I have time I want to sit with so many chosen words and quotes shared today. Thank you!
With that I say my gratefulness practice has evolved from simply thinking silent “ thank yous” when I was you g to starting my day on this site learning and becoming aware how to live with a grateful heart. I need to increase my pauses throughout the mundane daily moments. But I have learned to embrace the moments outside, early morning self reflection and prayer and noticing that even bad moments have a grateful lesson.
I think now that gratefulness has become part of my way of thinking and feeling it can only get stronger with practice.
My gratefulness practice has become an integral part of my life. It’s an important & necessary component of my daily living. It is how I choose to live my life.
I give thanks upon arising, give thanks as I am going to sleep & all thru my day.
Gratefulness for me is how I choose to be in the world. 🙏🏻✨🙏🏻
It will,
dear PKR…♥
I think that most of my conscious idea of a “gratefulness practice” has been associated with this grateful.com webpage.
I first discovered the Network for Grateful Living about 7 years ago when a friend told me about it. At first, my gratefulness practice was mostly reading the daily quotes and reading the articles/poems or watching the videos posted on the site.
I also experimented on my own for two years with a monthly calendar where I would write in the little box for the day something noteworthy (often something that I was grateful for) that happened or that I noticed that day. That brought me nourishment for two years (and I still have the calendars as a wonderful record to look back at), but then got old.
I also gave conscious attention to gratefulness when I was going through the free self-paced https://activehope.training/ video course with Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone. I highly recommend this course!! This teaches the Work that Reconnects, and one of the steps in the spiral of the Work that Reconnects is “coming from gratitude”.
Most recently, for the past two months or so, I have been getting more intentional with my gratefulness practice; writing out the answers to these daily questions, interacting with this lovely community and letting myself be nourished by you all’s wisdom, and also reading Kristi Nelson’s book “Wake up Grateful: the Transformative Practice of Taking Nothing for Granted”
Gratefulness has become a lens for my mindfulness practice. When I tune into what is really here, now, I’m grateful for the circumstances that allow me to pause, for the ways my life is enriched and supported by so many others, for the glories of the world around me, for hot coffee and a warm cat on my lap in the morning.
My mom raised her six kids with her attitude of appreciation, which for her came from growing up during the Depression. I’ve always known that rather than thinking of a glass as half full or half empty, I can instead be glad I have a glass. She also raised me to understand that not everyone is so lucky. My gratefulness sits alongside my understanding of privilege, which brings my gratefulness into sharp focus.
My father also grew up and shared stories with me about his childhood in the Great depression. Definitely glad he did!
The more I practice gratefulness, the more my capacity to notice expands, and the more I seek out opportunities to practice. I also find that the practices seep in over time, such that I continue to find interest and intrigue. Such a wonderful antidote to today’s addictive technology and isolation.
“I continue to find interest and intrigue” — yes, the gratefulness practice is an adventure! I love it.
I’m able to adapt to my environment quicker making me confident in multiple social settings. Anything can happen. Just a few months ago, I never thought I’d become an extrovert, but here I am. My Vietnamese community has taken my voice seriously. All I need to do is to put myself out there. Actions speak louder than words, but words also carry weight.
I find I am intentional and aware of connectivity.