Gratitude Made Easy, Promise

Ugh, right?

At this point in November you may be sick of this topic. But guess what, here’s one practice that’s guaranteed to move you from where you are now to where you want to be. Best of all, it’s easy.

You’re doing your morning pages? The pages are an indispensable way to get in touch your patterns, your Top 5 recurring hit thoughts. This practice also will bring you into direct contact with your details.

To be really great in little things, to be truly noble and heroic

in the insipid details of everyday life,

is a virtue so rare as to be worthy of canonization.

Harriet Beecher Stowe

But most of us hate journaling. Now what? How to avail yourself of the greatest benefit of all, perspective?

There are times when I’m embroiled in a story so deeply, even WITH pages I can’t get perspective. To put it simply, when I’m hating one someone, I can get pretty convinced I’m right. Spiritually I know, I’m the one who truly suffers. And intellectually, I know I need to wish the other person all the best. But emotionally, when I try to think happy thoughts for that jagoff*,  I can’t. What I can do, is visualize.
Let’s face it, hate is a pretty strong feeling. It’s not generally directed at people you don’t know well enough to know their happy face. There! That’s it. Put that picture in your mind and hold it until you start thinking about whatever the story is and then drop it. Run through the list of pictures and end with someone you’re able to love unconditionally, even if it’s Mother Theresa or your dog. And when you find yourself going over the details of the story, call that picture back up. Try it! And let me know how it goes here.

If you’re asking, what does forgiveness have to do with gratitude? That’s a great question. Getting rid of resentments will open up energy for other things. Like gratitude.