3 Selfish Reasons for saying "I'm grateful."
3 Selfish Reasons for "saying I'm grateful" and 5 Easy Steps to Practicing Gratitude
Excerpt from Courage and Croissants, Inspiring Joyful Living by
Suzanne Saxe-Roux and Jean P. Roux
If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "Thank-you," that would suffice.
Meister Eckhart (1260-1328) German Philosopher
Thanksgiving is a time to be grateful. The day is devoted to that (besides eating Turkey and sharing a great meal). On Thanksgiving individuals, families, friends, and communities share openly what they are grateful for and the world vibrates at a higher threshold of togetherness. The question becomes why can't we do this every day or at least more often.
The answer is we can and the benefit individuals derive from showing gratitude is returned tenfold. Expressing and showing gratitude benefits individuals and communities in:
- feeling better because we are focusing on what we have in life
- receiving more of the same because we are focusing on being grateful and giving to others
- makes it a more peaceful happy place to live
5 Easy Ways to Remember what you are Grateful For in Life
1. Write a gratitude list each morning when you wake up or evening before you go to bed in your journal. Every once in awhile go back and read it. You will be astounded at the small things that make you feel good!
2. Share what you are grateful for with your family at dinnertime. Talk about why you are grateful and how it makes you feel.
3. Each night when you tuck your child(ren) into bed, ask them to list as many things as they can think of that they are grateful for. Aim for 10-15 items. Then ask them if there are any things that didn’t go well in their day. Usually the list is pretty short. Talk about how many more great things happened to them and how lucky they are. This will go along way in teaching kids to see the good things in life.
4. Say "Thank-you" to everyone and anyone and see how great it makes you and the other person feel.
5. When you see someone who makes you smile, let them know that their smile and laughter made your day a bit brighter and you are grateful. Then turn around and give someone else a big smile in return.