I’m going to be sharing a small piece regarding gratitude and peace. This writing is mostly coming from my personal experience, and I hope you’re able to bear with me as on the surface this seems like probably a strange time to be feeling grateful or peaceful. Please also understand that this is being written in mid-April, who knows what could have changed by the time you’re reading this!
Since my business got closed down in March, I’ve been blessed with a little extra time to re-evaluate where I’m at and where I’m going, it has ranged from very painful to very amazing, I expect a lot of you have experienced the same emotional rollercoaster. However, with the help of my partner I have had a couple of anchors which I believe have maintained routine and stability in a very turbulent time.
I’m talking about a daily routine, a routine that specifically involves sitting quietly in contemplation and practicing deep breathing, peacefulness and gratitude. Gratitude to me is feeling for something, and not just thinking it, feeling it through your whole body as if you had just received the greatest unexpected gift. The subject of gratefulness doesn’t have to be lofty or complicated, for example the other day I had a deep well of gratitude for the warm water in my shower! I truly believe that no matter how dire the situation, we can all find at least one thing per day that we can be truly, unconditionally grateful for, despite maybe experiencing many other difficulties at the same time.
The importance of doing this cannot be over exaggerated during fearful and stressful times. With a quiet practice of peace and gratitude, you can literally rewire your brain and nervous system. When you take the time to feel peaceful and grateful, you move your brain and therefore eventually your thoughts and emotions from stress (fight, flight) to growth (rest, digest). This is a huge chemical change in your body which if practiced over time can result in things such as: better sleep, better concentration, increased mood and many others, but to be honest as far as I’m concerned, it just feels “right”!
I would also like to mention the importance of repletion, as biological law suggests, nerves that fire together, wire together. This is a fancy way of saying the more you do something, the easier and more automatic it becomes, remember learning to drive your car or ride your bike? Tough and strange at first, but after some practice it can become 99% automatic. Imagine what a difference that might make in your life now and in the future if a grateful mindset became your automatic default mindset, I’m not quite there myself, but I must say I’m truly grateful for every second of practice I have done thus far!
My thoughts to you and your family during this time, thank you to anyone who is reading this who is a key worker – we’re all truly grateful to you!