Project Gratefulness - October 2015

While it is important to have goals and dreams in our lives, I feel as important if not more is to be able to be grateful for what we have now and where we are in our lives right now. It is something I am still learning myself and it’s something that always brings a different “kinder” perspective to my experience, no matter how challenging the experience may seem.

Gratefulness is a tricky thing…it usually appears when we are happy but it often hides when we feel low and vulnerable, and when we need it the most. The great news is that with practice we can learn to bring a little bit more gratefulness into our lives even on those “gloomy” days.

It’s best to start nice and easy, from appreciating things that we love and enjoy…I used to have a little journal and wrote down one thing every day (or when I had time) that made me happy that day…from flowering trees, fluffy dandelions, morning sun rays, to the incredible feeling of freedom I feel in dance, and time with my beautiful friends and family…when we start bringing more gratefulness into our lives, we start “seeing” more of the amazing things we already have…it’s almost like we start perceiving the world with new eyes and an open heart…all of the sudden the world seems to be a better place, we feel happier and more fulfilled day by day.

The best thing about all of this is that over time, we will be able to become grateful even for things that seem hurtful or challenging at first. We will be able to see deeper into our experiences and will become more compassionate towards ourselves and the world around us. We will build a sense of no attachment (or lower attachment) to things that used to evoke strong emotions in us. There will come knowledge that everything has two sides and calmness that everything will pass.
 
Gratitude is a powerful tool that can change your life…it really can…I swear. In the end, all of our experiences here are the matter of our attitude…the same thing can be seen as a challenge, or a blessing…it is up to us to choose what lives we want to live…with love and gratitude or with hate and anger?

Take a moment this month to bring a little more gratefulness into your life…open your eyes…open your heart…I wish you that the month of October treats you with happiness, contentment, abundance and love.