Why practice gratitude?
Gratitude has been on the minds of philosophers for thousands of years. Studies show that people who express and practice gratitude tend to be more open, willing to forgive others and less narcissistic. The benefits of practising gratitude are nearly endless.
People who regularly practice gratitude by taking time to notice and reflect upon the things they’re thankful for experience more positive emotions, feel more alive, sleep better, express more compassion and kindness, and even have stronger immune systems.
We use gratitude as a state or a trait. It can be observed at an individual level, with its subsequent effects, or at a greater social level. Research has shown that the practice of gratitude can create a greater social circle of good.
Gratitude is a way of being that is created and developed through an ongoing internal investigation. When we focus inwards we see every experience as a catalyst for growth within the self.
When we reach a level of gratitude for every experience that brought us to a deeper sense of who we are in this world and how and why we operate as we do, then we give to the world around us in functional ways.
To live a fully grateful life is the journey. To practice gratitude is a meditation in itself. What am I angry at, where do I feel I’ve been treated badly? – when we can turn that into gratitude for what the person/situation has taught us about ourselves that needed healing, then we begin to live a life of gratitude.
What am I grateful for in my life today? Do I express that? What am I angry at? Am I moving towards healing that? Am I grateful and open to what every experience in my life is showing me?
Become a willing student of the experiences of our own inner and wiser self has lined up to teach us. Only then, can we practice gratitude? It is our gift to self and ultimately humanity. With deep inner strength, we develop an attitude of gratitude.
Love, Norah.🧡
