Gratitude can be an incredible tool in finding immense peace and lasting happiness, however, its usefulness is met, equalled and at times overshadowed by its difficulty to obtain. Gratitude is immensely effective yet harshly elusive. Deep gratitude does not come easily. It takes time, patience, practice and ultimately a complete perspective shift. Our reasons to be thankful and feel gratitude often become hidden by daily struggles, health difficulties and life turmoils. Yet ironically, it is throughout these difficult life challenges that gratitude can do its best healing work. Gratitude has transformed my daily life. As a chronic illness fighter my reasons to be grateful are often deeply hidden by the daily struggles of health. For others it may be hidden by financial troubles, family conflicts or work stresses. Life has a way of throwing us curveballs and turns we never saw our life taking. The way I have combated gratitude’s sneaky elusiveness is to gently introduce it into my daily life with a strong focus and consistent practice. Each day, regardless of the quantity or depth of the struggle I am facing, I invite gratitude into my day and try to help it stick around as long as possible.
The first thing I do each morning as I open my eyes and stretch my sleepy body is reflect and acknowledge three things i am grateful for. They can be as simple as being thankful for having clean water to drink, nutritious food to eat and safe shelter over my head. These are basic life necessities that many people in this world tragically can not access. I often reflect on how thankful I am for my supportive, encouraging family and friends. At times it can be as little as a beautiful sea shell, a sunny change in weather or optimal beach conditions. This little moment of gratitude sets the mood and tone for my day, taking my focus off the dark and difficult, placing it onto the light and beautiful. Throughout the day I try my best to notice little things that I am thankful for and as I lay down to sleep at night I reflect on my day and think about all those small moments of thanks. (I can almost hear my brother rolling his eyes at the level of my hippiness from 300km away but I assure you, hippy or not, this system of gratitude helps immensely).
I have seen so many beautiful forms of gratitude in my little life and will share some stories that have inspired me most in my next blog post - Gratitude Part -2. I will share one little note today. Recently I was having a difficult health day, my body was not cooperating. It was fatigued from the past week of work, study, weddings, socialising and dance classes. I may have spread myself a little thin. Those who know me well will know what I mean. On weeks I feel up to it and my health is being kind, I live my life all or nothing, I complete tasks within one day, I fill up my days with little rest and I say yes to every ask or project. I enjoy life to the fullest and pack my wishes and adventures into those well days. However this particular day it had taken a toll, so my both my energy and gratitude flow were slower than usual. That morning I received a text from a dear friend to say they had some spare fresh roses from their garden for me to pick up. This small act of kindness changed my day. I was so grateful to have a kind and caring support system, I was thankful to be able to enjoy nature's beauty and I was thankful to regain my perspective and turn the day around. Many thanks for the roses to two of my biggest supporters (you know who you are). My gratitude returned and while my health didn't improve that day, it become a secondary focus to the many beautiful and positive aspects of life.
That is not to say life doesn't get you down sometimes, being thankful and feeling gratitude does not ensure a worry free life. At the beginning of my illness I called bull**** on the whole gratitude concept. People would tell me, ‘Everything happens for a reason’ or ‘At least now you can write dark emotive poems of your struggles’ … (I think the latter was a joke but you never know). I saw no reason to be thankful that my wonderful uni life of freedom and discovery was turned upside down as I finished my degree isolated and house ridden. However, over the past six yeas of health and life challenges, I have discovered that my key is to turn my struggles from destructive obstacles into constructive learning paths. I try to see these challenges as tools which are making me into a better, stronger, more driven and empathetic earthling. This overarching gratitude has not some easy and believe me there are still some days where my struggles hold back my gratitude and allow my positivity and thankfulness to remain somewhat hidden. Yet no matter how draining, how shattering or challenging the struggle, small moments of gratitude really can help you lift and carry on, even if some days only slightly
Peace and love <3 The little Earthling
To be continued…