Today I want to share with you some of my thoughts about gratitude. The post will be about the reasons that have persuaded me to start using the ‘gratitude practices’ in my life. They are mostly about discovering the numerous reasons to praise the goodness of our Lord which is present in people, nature, events and actually in every aspect of our lives. At the end I will invite you, Dear Readers, to work on the topic by yourselves: I will describe some practical ways to implement the whole gratitude idea in your daily lives and this way help you change the perception of your life’s situation and start the way of happiness for which God made us.
What is it all about?
Gratitude is a topic worth of our attention. It is crucially important for numerous reasons.
Scientists discovered that practicing gratitude and thankfulness feelings on a regular basis can impact both our mental and physical health. Firstly, gratitude helps in the fight against depression, fears and anxiety. Ongoing action of concentrating on the positive aspects of life instead of worrying and complaining about all the struggles we need to get through in our lifetime can profoundly change the brain structures of a human.
Gratitude stimulates neurotransmitters to transport serotonin what cause the rise in the production of dopamine- a chemical substance responsible for the feelings of pleasure. In short: the more we fill ourselves with gratitude and positive thinking, the happier and healthier we feel 🙂
What is more, gratitude might be a great remedy for those who suffer from stress and insomnia. There are also researches showing gratitude as a prevention from heart diseases. And what’s best, everything natural and totally for free!
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Jesus himself mentions the great importance of gratitude expressed by thanksgiving just next to rejoicing and praying continually.
But how might it look in practice?
We already know a lot of reasons for which we can be grateful for! And now it is time for some practical ways to make this idea a part of our daily life.
- Gratitude journaling
Writing down every day a few things that have made us feel grateful is a practice that we can add to our morning or night routine.
I highly recommend you starting a new notebook for such an activity in order to have in the future a great reminder of many blessings that God has gifted us with. Every evening I try to name 5 things that made my day very special and are the right reason to feel thankful. They might be very diversified: a colleague who shared her notes with us when we were absent, a mouth-watering dinner that we finally managed to prepare or rays of sunshine in our bedroom. Your list can really be very varied!
2. Meditation
Another way to build a grateful heart and mind is to meditate. It is worth sacrificing 10 or 15 minutes, finding a solitary place, putting your phone in a silent mode and listening to your inner voice- the Holy Spirit whispering to you. A few deep breaths and reminding yourself of a specific situation, a thing, a person thanks to which we felt happiness, fulfillment, contentment. The next step is to concentrate on the feeling of gratitude and to let yourself be driven by it, to the moment in which we feel totally captured.
If we practice this type of meditation regularly, every day or every couple of days, gratitude becomes our “habit”. It gets easier to feel it spontaneously, without great effort which is crucial during your first meditation sessions.
3. Conscious thanksgiving
How many times you happened to say “thank you” without even taking notice of what these words truly mean? I caught myself doing it many times!
But what if you really felt the meaning lying behind this expression and next time you say it tried to look deeply into someone’s eyes and expressed what you feel? A lot of people thanked me for my actions or gifts but many of these situations have already flipped my mind. But those I will not forget are when someone really took a break from the immersion in the daily tasks and expressed how important was what I had done to this person. Of course it is not about big actions- even the smallest can make a profound change in the world.
4. Practice by the table
An exercise to practice expressing gratitude together with the ones we love. I want to share with you an idea which some time ago was new to me as well. First time I had a possibility to participate in such a practice when I visited my good friend and together with his parents we had dinner. My friend explained me that for some time during their evening time together they had been sharing 3 beautiful things that had made them feel grateful. Additionally they say also one thing that had been especially difficult or challenging for them. How much courage it takes to open up in front of the ones that theoretically are the closest to us but in fact they might not be the closest to our hearts!
This practice makes people grow closer to one another, destroys boundaries, helps to understand someone’s way of thinking and might be a great possibility to share support and advice in harsh times. I hardly recommend you to try it out! 🙂
5. Spontaneous messages
It is time for the last tip of today’s post: spreading gratitude throughout spontaneous messages. When you have a spare minute in your time in-between classes, before falling asleep or actually whenever you feel like, think of a person you are especially grateful for. It might be your friend, husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, parent or just an acquaintance- send her/him a brief message expressing your gratitude that God placed this person in your life! This simple but in the same time very meaningful message might remind them that they live for a reason because there is a person that perceives them as valuable, important and significant. It is really worth it!
And what is your definition of gratitude? Do you have any favorite ways to express it in your life!
Share your ideas in the comments or send me an email! 🙂
Have a lovely day!
With love,
Kasia
Hi Kasia,
Thank you for reminding me about meditation. I have been practicing this method again for the last few weeks and it made a huge difference already. I feel calmer, more positive, more energetic…
In my daily prayers, I briefly express my gratitude for such great a number of blessings I receive all the time…
And now I would like to say a big thanks to you, Kasia, for your wonderful blog. I am more than three times older than you, and still learn so much, contemplating your brilliant ideas…
And I really thought I had seen it all already and nothing would have surprised me… I am glad I was wrong.
Lena
It is so amazing to read Your words! They mean a world to me <3 I am glad that You have found some inspiration in my work!
Your insights are always so valuable.