Tears of Gratitude

Thanksgiving time, Americans traditionally practice gratitude.  Some families write letters, some go around the table and each say what they are grateful for, and some think it but keep it to themselves.  

I remember years ago my mom said she wanted us to all say something we were grateful for during dinner.  This wasn’t something our family normally did so it felt very uncomfortable even though I knew we should do it.  It was a good start for doing something new, but unfortunately it didn’t become a tradition for us. 

As I’ve grown in the self-development part of my life, I started my day with writing down 3 things I was grateful for, soon I added a second time for gratitude right before I went to bed.  These were kept in a journal for my eyes only.  Once I learned to share these with a text, email, vocally, and a handwritten thank you card I learned sharing my feelings helped brighten the person’s day.  In fact, I’ve come to believe it’s selfish of me to keep my gratitude to myself.   

I often practice my gratitude with gratitude of life that is often taken for granted like...

clean air to breath,

my fingers and toes all work,

AC to keep me cool,

waking up and able to get out of bed on my own,

my ability to smile,

the sun rise or sunset,

the freedom to be exactly where I am doing exactly what I chose to do, 

etc.

Hard times in life can really help us grow if we choose to take that path which I am fortunate to have done.  During some of my hardest moments of my life I was taught to find gratitude which I cannot explain how much of a game changer this is. This can be as simple as noticing a positive and taking a few seconds to acknowledge it and say thank you.  But this can be as deep as sitting with myself eyes closed and hands over my heart going deep looking for good in my current life to be grateful for.  I sit with those feelings until emotions come up of joy.  Sometimes I need to move to another joyful moment to find one that can move me with such strong gratitude I come to tears of joy.  I sit with those feelings and tears smiling.  These practices have helped me put a challenge into perspective that it’s not as bad as my mind makes it out to be.  In non-challenging times these tears of joy can energize me as if I just had a cup of coffee!  (Maybe I should do this more and drink less coffee ) 

What am I grateful for as I write this?  It’s for you, the reader.  I am honored that you take a few moments out of your life to read my thoughts.  You often make it in my gratitude journal, so thank you!   

My challenge for you, practice gratitude more often.

What are you grateful for? 


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