The Joy of Gratitude: Simple Ways of Giving Thanks
The joy of gratitude is an acquired joy that comes with practice. I was taught as a very young child to say “thank you” and most of the time I didn’t understand the reason why. It was just something I was expected to do to be polite.
Truthfully, I didn’t understand ‘polite’ at that early age, but that’s another story. It was many years before I fully understood the power of gratitude to increase my own happiness and to shift my focus away from my difficulties.
Intentionally practicing gratitude became a habit, and it helps shape the person I am today.
I want to share some different ideas for expressing gratitude for the people, events, and circumstances in life.
From creative ways to say ‘thank you’ to practical advice for making gratitude a daily habit— and why a consistent practice of gratitude is important if you want the most joy possible in life.
A Gratitude Journal
Keeping a gratitude journal is one of the simplest habits to begin. Some paper, a pen, and a willingness (make that commitment) to sit quietly. You can write down one item like the warmth of the sunshine, or make a long list of everything that you can think of.
Consistency is more important than quantity. A statement of gratitude is the very first thing I write at the top of my planner every morning.
When I have a bit more time, I will reflect on the one thing I have written there.
It might be as simple as a new pair of socks.
I take a different journal with more space to write and after giving thanks for the new socks I bought the day before I might ask: Why am I feeling blessed to have new socks? Where are my feet going to carry me this day? How many places have they carried me already?
And before I know it I am writing a memoir of a trip to Ireland twenty years ago. To kickstart writing is only one sweet benefit of practicing gratitude in this way.
Gratitude as a Spiritual Practice
Something that triggers gratitude can be a single event, like the smell of bread cooking or the birth of a kitten, but how does a one-time event become a spiritual practice that reshapes our lives?
Moving gratitude from a single event to a practice begins with an intention even though we are wired from birth to experience awe! Watch a toddler who discovers a bug!
But somewhere in our early development, life gets in the way and we become focused on chasing dreams— or being chased by fears.
Then we must become intentional about gratitude and practice it with as much passion as we practiced baseball or piano in our youth.
Only with intention does gratitude move from being an occasional event to part of the fabric of our being.
How to Begin a Practice of Gratitude
Here is my process for beginning a new practice like gratitude. I begin my day with a specific order of (among other things) getting up and dressed, letting the dog out, and picking up a planning worksheet to consider my day.
Most importantly, I anchor what I want to become a habit like gratitude to something else that I do every day.
Then not only do I anchor gratitude to opening my daily planner, but I also anchor it to eating.
I pause before every meal. With or without others, my consistent practice is to inhale, whisper ‘thank you’ and exhale. This adds to the practice of gratitude three more times a day. It stokes the fires of mindfulness and even my food tastes better.
Another moment in my day when I practice gratitude is when I slide behind the wheel of ‘Lucy’, my adorable shiny red VW Beetle. Of course, I am thankful to drive this classic car and it’s fun when people stop me in a parking lot to comment on her.
But just the act of putting her in gear triggers an outpouring of gratitude for everything from being able to drive, to the privilege of giving someone else a ride.
I am filled with an awareness of good things ahead, of great expectations for unexpected joy, and of peace that overrides my petty irritations at the rising cost of gas.
This doesn’t come automatically. It takes practice. And practice doesn’t happen automatically either. That is why finding something that you do consistently and making that a touch point for any new habit is the secret of success.
It is so difficult to stay grumpy when you swim in a pond of thanksgiving.
That’s like expecting to stay dry when you swim in the ocean.
I have been called an optimistic thinker (on the positive side), and on the other side — a Pollyanna by people put off by my joy.
What they don’t understand is that I have just as many crappy things happen on any given day as they do. The rain falls on me no differently than on anyone else.
But I have been practicing gratitude for a long time. It has become a habit. If I practiced my fiddle as consistently, a few notes at a time throughout every day without fail, I would be a much better fiddler too.
I consider practicing gratitude as a spiritual practice because it strengthens every part of my being—body, soul, and spirit.
If you have never made an intentional practice of gratitude, choosing instead to let it happen spontaneously, you are missing the fullness of joy that comes with a life that is thankful for every moment.. at that moment.
If you would like a FREE COPY of a GRATITUDE JOURNAL click this link!
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