As our favorite hype man points out on the reg, gratitude is key. I’m going to be honest- my relationship with gratitude up until this point has been, let’s say, transactional. Hearing that a gratitude practice is beneficial, I’ve tried to pepper it into my life- I even bought a gratitude journal and used it for about a month. In a sort of eat-your-vegetables kind of way, I’ve done the gratitude thing: check.
Needless to say, I’ve had a skewed perception of gratitude all along. Dare I say, this whole “Gratitude practice” is kind of a crock? Gratitude isn’t something you do. Grateful is something you are. And, more than that, there is no such thing as being a grateful or ungrateful person. There are a million things that we appreciate in our daily lives, and just because we don’t write down “I am grateful for my bay windows!” in our gratitude journal doesn’t mean we’re ungrateful.
Focusing on gratitude is like starting Thanksgiving with the turkey coma - no travel, no parade, no taste-testing and wine sipping with the family. Just the lethargic knowing that you’ve accomplished all you set out to. Thanksgiving: check. But, maybe, the beauty is in the process. And the process is happening all around us- we just have to pay attention.
Here’s my push for you this week: Can you turn up the volume on the little things, and be a little more present for the process? My guess is that if you tune in, the gratitude will fall into place on its own.
The way the sun hits your window to greet you in the morning, the sleepy smile on your coworker’s face when they ask you how your weekend was- these are things you don’t want to miss! Chances are, if I take a moment to look up and feel the sun on my face, the feeling that follows is organically one of gratitude. Similarly, when if I actually pause to share how my weekend was, to be present rather than rushed or dismissive, the next words out of my mouth will likely be, “Thanks so much for asking!” (and I’ll mean them).
The turkey coma is inevitable, but if that’s where you start, you’re missing the best part.
And if you don’t remember what it looks like to savor the process, here’s a gif of DJ Khaled eating jello.