This week, we ring in the New Year with a Gratitude Special!
While we normally have our annual gratitude episode on Thanksgiving we felt it was the perfect way to close out 2020 and welcome 2021.
This, truly, special episode consists of messages from our listeners who called in to share what they’re grateful for from this past year and what they’re most looking forward to in 2021.
Growing gratitude
Finding moments of reflection and introspection is one of life’s most beautiful gifts. Even those with the most seasoned gratitude practice have the ability to deepen their human understanding and joy by hearing what others express gratitude for.
It’s not always easy to be grateful
If “grateful” isn’t the first word that comes to mind when you think about 2020, we get it. The world’s changed. Maybe you can’t be grateful for the same things you were last year. Maybe there are fewer things for which you can be thankful. Or maybe once you really reflect you’ll find a whole new list of things to be grateful for that you may have taken for granted before this wild ride of a year. That’s okay.
Gratitude is always powerful but never more so than when we feel the most lost and hurt.
It’s the key component towards a powerful mind-shift. It allows us to find joy in the mundane and to recognize that we’re not alone. Discovering gratitude in the dark will bring you into the light.
When life gets hard, finding things to be grateful for can be transformative. Heather wrote a bit about the impact of gratitude here, but it’s worth talking about again in this current context. If we take the time to think about the good things, our lives become more balanced. We don’t have to let negative emotions or situations rule our inner lives.
Bottom line, there are still reasons to be grateful. It might sound trite but it’s true. Good always comes with bad, whether we want it to or not. Life is messy that way. If you’re the type of person who struggles to feel grateful when others are hurting, we hear you. But it’s okay to feel grateful, even with so much suffering in the world. Ambivalence is natural, and it’s healthy to embrace it.
Above all else, it feels good to feel grateful. Gratitude grounds us. It can clear our minds and give us hope for the future. Begin your year right by sharing in our listeners’ gratitude, and maybe in expressing some yourself.
Want to deepen your gratitude practice?
Or maybe you’re finally ready to start a gratitude practice?
Grab one of Heather’s Gratitude Journals and get started right now!
