Experience & Express Gratitude
Stop for a moment and think of someone in your life that you are grateful to. Do you have someone in mind? Now really focus on that person. Ask yourself what is that you appreciate about the person? What specifically do you like about him or her? Picture the person in your mind. Think of nothing else but your gratitude for having the person in your life. Think of nothing else but about what you appreciate about him or her. Then close your eyes and focus on what exactly you love about that person.
How did you feel when you thought of the person, closed your eyes and focused on what exactly you love about that person? You felt pretty good, didn’t you? When we focus on our appreciation and gratitude for the things we have and for the people in our lives, we encourage our own awareness, we encourage our own happiness.
Gratitude is one of those characteristics that is almost always present when one is feeling happy. What you focus on has an impact in your life. Try to make gratitude a larger aspect of your thoughts. Did you know that you can end pain by simply changing your focus or attention on something else?
Try this simple experiment. Take 10 minutes of your time and make a list of all the things you are truly thankful for in your life. Make a list of all the things you appreciate and are really grateful for. Stay away from or avoid the “I should be grateful for this” type of items and stick with only those things that you know in your heart you really feel thankful for. Then notice how you feel afterwards. You’ll be surprised at what you experience.
If you are not in the habit of experiencing appreciation, if you are not in the habit of expressing appreciation, you may need reminders. You may have to set notes around your home to help remind you. If you keep a journal you may want to list one thing you feel grateful for every day. When you do this every day, it will soon become a habit. When I was first doing this I found myself actively looking for things to appreciate. After a while, it became second nature to me.