December 23, 2020
Thank you.
Have you ever stopped to name the people, things, and circumstances in your life for which you are truly grateful? Not only is expressing gratitude a very positive thing to do, it’s actually beneficial to your mental health. Identifying and reclaiming what you already have shines light and perspective on the seemingly dark moments of despair and disappointment.
On the other hand, let’s not pretend that this year was easy. Let’s not blow off 2020 with a bunch of silly, pie-in-the-sky, far-fetched tweets when so many are still suffering. Let’s not pretend to be so toxically positive that we lose touch with reality and with others whose challenges are much different than our own.
By all means, 2020 has pulled and stretched me in ways that I could not have imagined. The challenges continue. The need to persevere, learn, mature, and grow have never been greater. If 2020 was a wakeup call, may we find some value in lessons learned, some benchmarks from which to measure future growth, and some joy in which to celebrate a few small wins.
I gotta admit, even while swimming in all my privilege and blessings bestowed upon me, I don’t always feel grateful. In this reflection right now, I can literally feel my perspective changing. That matters to me.
What I truly valued about actually following through on another Twitter challenge this time, was that #30daysofgratitude forced me to post one thing for which I was grateful every day of November. After a while, I could feel a new habit forming. I was making a good habit more visible while, at the same time, miminizing potential investment in bad habits. My outlook was changing.
As bad as it sounds, there were some days when I couldn’t think of one more thing for which to be grateful. Can you believe that? How shameful and ignorant, right? That forced me to dig deeper, to challenge the criteria upon which I was defining and staking my gratitude, and to continually realign my wandering purpose with my values.
Making a habit out of expressing gratitude is an ongoing process of persevering through painful places to embrace your current lot in life–no matter what. It’s another new starting line from which to reflect on where you’ve been, where you are, and where you might be going. It’s another opportunity to realize your place in this world, to grow your empathy potential, and to pause to position your perspective.
What are you grateful for?
At the very least, I’m grateful for all of my #30daysofgratitude, so far:
