Greetings in the new year! I hope this year will bring you wonderful opportunities for pleasures large and small.
We are already creeping toward Spring, but still in the season of Winter; a time for rest, renewal and reflection. So it’s good to reassure ourselves that we don’t need to go charging full-speed into the year with all our plans fully in mind! Take it slow, and enjoy the process.
Gratitude is a wonderful way to enrich ourselves, by focusing on what we DO have, the things our bodies do so well for us (rather than how they look), and all the small things we tend to take for granted in daily life.
Spending even 5 minutes a day feeling grateful is good for our health in every way! Studies have shown that this:
Reduces Stress: Focusing on what you’re grateful for can shift your thoughts toward noticing the pleasant things in your life, and away from dwelling on the things that trouble you.
Increases Happiness: Regularly practicing gratitude can help you develop a more positive outlook, as you notice more and more things that you truly appreciate.
Strengthens Immunity: Gratitude sends healthy signals throughout your body, releasing nitric oxide (the pleasure molecule) and engaging your parasympathetic nervouse system (for relaxation), leading to a stronger immune system.
Promotes Self-Acceptance: Gratitude encourages you to be more in the moment, appreciating your unique perspective and abilities, and fostering a healthier self-image.
A recent experience I had with a Gratitude Practice
Have you ever created a large piece of “Group Art” with others?
In the past during in-person classes, I’ve had people each draw their impressions onto a big piece of butcher paper, resulting in a colorful group expression of our class theme.
In a recent Self-Care session on Zoom, I shared a simple group-art practice with those attending. Even though we were on Zoom, I wanted them to be able to integrate a bit of each others’ ideas if they wished!
Our theme was Gratitude. First they each listed some gratitudes, and shared their list with the group. Next it was time to draw, and I invited them to include some of their classmates’ ideas on their page, if they wished.
Here is the page I created:
Shown here are my gratitude for art supplies, and other peoples’ gratitudes for morning coffee, ladybugs in the garden, and sleeping in! It was so much fun to end up with this completely unique page, representing each of us.
(Artist’s Note: This activity was done in the Cosmic Smashbooking style, which means we wrote our gratitudes across the page to begin, and then illustrated on top of our writing. I drew squiggles down the page in pen for texture, used some colored pens, and a lot of watercolor to cover large areas quickly.)
Maybe you could try this with your family or friends!
(Check out this article to learn about the science of gratitude.).
https://www.mindful.org/the-science-of-gratitude/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email+marketing
Visit the BLOG to find 3 Gratitude Practices!
(Check out this article to learn about the science of gratitude.).
Here are a few suggestions for your gratitude practice.
Choose one (or do them all)!
Gratitude Journal
Noticing things we’re grateful for helps us to notice even MORE things we appreciate. It can become a habit!
Write at least three things you’re grateful for in your Gratitude Journal every evening.
It could be something as small as the smell of coffee or as meaningful as resolving a difficult situation. Imagine how nice it will be to look back over those, at any time, to see how much you truly have to be grateful for.
Gratitude Jar
Find a nice jar or vase, and leave a little bowl next to it with small scraps of paper. Any time you want to remember something special that you did, saw, or read, write it on a piece of paper and put it in the Gratitude Jar!
You can pull these out to read at any time, and also make a special point of reading them ALL at the end of the year during your yearly review!
Bless everything that has anything to do with what you want!
This key saying comes from the ancient Hawaiian tradition of Huna, which encourages us to feel grateful for the things we see around us. Instead of feeling jealous because it belongs to someone else or discouraged because you don’t have it (yet), simply feel appreciation for it. This secret blessing helps you feel abundant and may bring what you desire to you more quickly!
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash