Gratitude Practice as the Balm

"Enjoy the little things,
for one day you may look back 
and realize
they were the big things".  

~Robert Brault

Happy May! I hope that this letter finds you all doing as well as possible and riding the waves of change with ease and grace.  We are certainly living in a time warp and welcoming the month of May feels surreal on many levels.  

To me, the beginning of the month is always an opportunity to reassess, reflect, and set some new goals and intentions.  I am personally entering May appreciating the warmer days, sunshine, and the many signs of Spring's rebirthing and blooming.  
 
At the onset of this time of being home I definitely knew that I needed another practice, other than my yoga and meditation practices, to anchor myself in the trajectory of love and appreciation.   
 
I am at the tail end of a (self-imposed!) 30-Day Gratitude Project, which I publicly posted every day on my Instagram feed.  It has been transformational on many levels and has truly shifted my point of focus and perspective during this uncertain time of life.  I felt moved to share with you all my experiences in hopes to instill some inspiration and perhaps your own action steps around creating a focus on gratitude as we continue to collectively navigate this pandemic.  
 
Focusing on gratitude does not come naturally to me.  I, like so many, can easily find myself in a spin of negativity and stress.  Focusing on all of the challenges of life and every aspect in which I am not doing as well as I “should” be and getting swept up in the traumas and dramas of life.
 
This is a tremendous reason why I wanted to do the project during this exceptional time.  Focusing on the positives of everyday life, I knew would be supportive so I committed to doing it. 
 
What this practice has given me has been an opportunity to focus my days on appreciation and gratitude.  I knew that by the end of every day I had to have something to share so it motivated me to look for the good and really focus on it.  
 
Believe me, there were some days when it was and is harder than others to find that gratitude attitude but those are the days when I have to dig deep and it becomes even more powerful!
 
I started to see things differently…through a new lens. 
 
I started to truly appreciate all of the blessings in my life in midst of so much turmoil.  
 
I appreciated the interactions and connections that I experienced after my posts and the inspiration that others had as a result. 
 
I enjoyed sharing aspects of who I am with others publicly as it helped me to reflect, remember, and celebrate my own life and successes.  
 
I received so many moments of awareness during my time of focusing on gratitude.  It is a practice that I will now carry with me throughout my days.  
 
 
Here are some gems that I uncovered about gratitude this past month: 
 

• Gratitude opens our eyes to the blessings that are all around us.

• Gratitude shifts our focus to the present moment.

• Gratitude provides perspective which, boy do we need right now!

• Gratitude drops the energy down into my body and shifts my relationship to it moment-by-moment.

• Focusing on gratitude during these times gives the monkey mind something positive to come back to throughout the days.  It is so easy to spin into the negative right now and giving that mind of ours something good to focus on and appreciate is incredibly helpful. 

Do you need to do a public gratitude project? Absolutely not. However, I do HIGHLY recommend diving into the practice of gratitude during these times.  Create your own practice with your own flavor. 
 
Hold each other accountable or, even better, hold yourself accountable and strengthen your own belief in your abilities to meet this precious life with presence.  
 
Wherever this blog finds you personally, I hope that you are able to take away a nugget of hope and motivation to step more fully into this time of upheaval with a greater sense of peace and faith on this collective path we are walking together.  

Reach out for connection if you need it, take good care of yourselves and your loved ones, and search for the appreciation and gratitude in every moment. 
 
We are all in this together.