Feel the feeling

To fully experience the feeling of gratitude, take a pause for a moment to think about someone or something you love.

Take a few deep breaths and allow yourself to bask in the feeling that washes over you. You will find that there is no room for anything else at this point, only this good feeling. Your body will experience a natural high, your atoms will sparkle and you will feel immediately replenished.

The key is to hold onto that feeling for as long as possible and remember to rinse and repeat throughout your day. You will find that this gradually becomes a habit which your mind, body, spirit and soul - and those close to you - will be grateful for too.

This is because being in gratitude is a bit like your body being alkaline whereby both these things create the perfect state for your body to do its best work to keep you healthy, happy and strong.

Moreover, gratitude equates to a feeling of acceptance. As Eckhart Tolle says: It is the inevitable ‘is-ness’ of now where your inner state is no longer ultimately dependent on what is happening or not happening outside. This is a vital transformation of consciousness, where the external world no longer determines your state of consciousness.

It is a truism that cultivating a daily habit of gratitude has a positive impact on our mindset and overall sense of wellbeing which in turn attracts more abundance and joy into our lives.

No excuses

Gratitude can be as simple as being heartened by someone smiling as you pass them on the street or someone saying thank you. It can come as a tremendous sense of relief when things turn out right or better than expected or it can come from a beautiful surprise or an unexpected act of kindness.

There are so many ways we can feel gratitude that there is no excuse to not feel grateful, thankful or appreciative every single day.

This can be a very difficult thing to do when we are not feeling our best or when things seem to be working against us. Feeling grateful during such times is one of the hardest things to do which is why it can have the most powerful effect.

When we are able to feel grateful for the tests and lessons presented to us, when we can see hard times as an opportunity to learn and grow, when we can simply be thankful to be alive in any situation, gratitude becomes a true friend that will see us through the worst of situations and help us to heal and feel whole again.

Whenever I was in the depths of despair during my teens, my dearest Mum used to say: Think of those who are so much worse off than you. And then she would reel off all the things I could be grateful for if I chose to. She would make me smile with her gentle humour and I am forever grateful to my Mum for teaching me these things. It’s one magical drop of goodness in an ocean of gratitude that has become my world.

For many of us there is no excuse to ignore our blessings, especially when when we are not living in a war-zone, not starving or hungry as so many of our fellow humans are at this time, and when we have a roof over our head, friends to spend time with as we choose and food to put on our table.

Gratitude is super-good for us

Not only is being thankful a lovely way to be, it has also proven to be extremely good for us.

This is because gratitude causes synchronised activation in multiple brain regions and lights up parts of our brain's reward pathways and the hypothalamus.

When we are truly grateful, the feeling inside boosts neurotransmitter serotonin and activates the brain stem to produce dopamine - commonly known as the feel-good hormone.

This is confirmed in a superb article written by medical researcher, Misty Pratt, for Mindful - The Science of Gratitude - bringing us up to date on the latest (or lasting) research and findings relating to this profoundly important subject.

The conclusion: Cultivating gratitude can open the door to a different perspective, one that values the goodness in our lives. With practice, we can learn to see the bigger picture and navigate adversity with greater resilience.

A great start (and end) to the day

Thinking about the things we appreciate, love and feel thankful for immediately makes us feel better which is why it is such a good idea (as a minimum) to make a concerted effort to think about things we are grateful for at the start and end of our day.

The trick is to embrace the feeling of thankfulness entirely so that you can feel the warm, comforting feeling it generates.

This is when feeling gratitude has a tangible and physical effect on our mind, body and soul which is uplifting, healing and energising. It means starting the day on the right foot with an increased boost of loving energy or ending the day in a relaxed and contented state of mind as the precursor for a good night’s sleep.

A daily gratitude routine

I have come up with an easy way to start the day in gratitude by creating a free Daily Gratitude printable that I use for noting down various thoughts I know will make me feel better and focus my mind on my inner wellbeing.

Having these prompts makes it really easy to do either first thing in the morning or last thing at night so that you can start the day in the right mood and clear your mind before going to sleep.

The added bonus is that doing this every day helps to estabish this exercise as a healthy habit that becomes second nature where we endeavour to see the good in everything and everyone rather than focus on the negative.

I hope you enjoy thinking about all the things you are grateful for and are looking forward to at the start of the Summer season.

May I extend my gratitude to you for being here and reading this post - I look forward to seeing you again soon.

Sue Cartwright

Spiral Leaf