November can be the beginning of the crazy holiday chaos and most busy (sometimes wonderful) time of the year. Planning for family gatherings, shopping, lots of shopping, baking, special events, and more. It can be beautiful and fun but also life draining and chaotic. We can easily fall into the commercial ideology of more is better and quantity over quality.
A few years ago, I decided I wanted to be more intentional and change the holiday season’s narrative. My heart desires the last few months of the year to be life-giving rather than life draining.
The journey towards living well this one beautiful life does not have one “a-ha” kick start moment; rather, it was a gradually unfolding process. But, finding value in gratitude, learning to understand, and practice it daily, that was a gift from Ann Voskamp and her book One Thousand Gifts. According to the dictionary, gratitude is “the quality of being thankful, readiness to show appreciation for and to return the kindness.” After reading Ann’s book One Thousand Gifts, I began a journey towards understanding and intentionally practicing Gratitude in my life. And as November is the month of Thanks and Giving, each year, I take time to pause and reflect on what it means to live a life of gratitude. Considering how to live out gratitude in the midst of the drama, stress, illness, parenting teens (did I mention drama), and daily routines.
Why is living a life of gratitude important?
Recently I read an article about the physical impact of gratitude on our bodies. And it stated it like this, “In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.” Practicing Gratitude in our lives improves both our mental and physical health. It gives us the ability to deal with the hard things in a much more resilient and healthy way.
“There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy.”
Ralph H Blum
Like any habit, Gratitude is something that can be developed and strengthened with intentional practice. As we intentionally set out to practice gratitude it begins to flow more naturally, without thought. In practicing gratitude it slows life down, helping us live fully present in the moments as we seek to be more aware, noticing all the good, even the smallest things. This does not mean living in denial of what is difficult, what is hard but allowing joy to transcend the hard, choosing gratitude in the midst of hard. Practicing the art of naming the hard, but releasing it and allowing the gifts of life to linger.
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life; it turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.
Melody Beattle
Ann states in her book (pg 39) that “thanksgiving is necessary to live the well, whole, fullest life,” then how do we begin to practice living this life of gratitude?
It all started with a list, pen, and paper always close-by, ready to capture the naming of gifts.
1. The Garden – working with dirt slipping through the hand, lingering in fingernails.
2. Birds – speaking a life through song.
3. Family – Husband, best friend, and lover. Children, pieces of my heart that live outside me, growing and changing daily.
The list is simple at first as we reflect on those closest and our favorite moments. But as time goes on, the list can repeat itself (which is perfectly ok) or feel forced. Some days finding the gifts can feel hard. What is good about a day when you struggle to even get out of bed?
4. Bare feet touching the cold wooden floor.
5. Blankets soft, wrapped tightly to keep me warm
6. Coffee, the smell of coffee in the morning.
Even on the hardest of days when we are intentional, the simplest things can become gifts to be opened. Gratitude can be found in the most unexpected places throughout our day—some practice naming the gifts with an intentional target or number in mind. Making sure before the head hits the pillow each night, they have named 1, 2, or 5 gifts from that day. Others like myself, who tend to turn things into “have to” tasks and achievements, opt for more randomness in our naming. To write the list whenever the inspiration comes. The practice is not in the method but rather in the naming.
As we welcome November, especially this year, where so much has been hard, unexpected, and chaotic, I invite you to join me in the practice of Gratitude. Intentionally pausing to notice and name the gifts of each day. Please do not make it a task, something else to do, but rather a mindset shift. A desire to move beyond the hard and into the good. To live fully present, noticing the blessings and being grateful, right where we are.
Want to join others in learning from Ann the Art of Gratitude. Join her free study based on the book One Thousand Gifts. Even if all you do is watch the video’s they are worth your time. faithgateway.com/obs
https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-happier
