Despite participating in #365grateful for several years, I’d still wake up with an expletive as soon as my alarm went off on certain mornings. A gratitude (or even a mediation) practice is no magic pill, but many of us believe that it’s the Holy Grail to serenity, sanity, and everlasting self-discipline.
Yet there are plenty of experts who tout its seemingly snake oil properties (clearer skin, better baking, better sex, just kidding, you still have to wash your face). But it turns out there are scientifically proven benefits to being grateful.
Although some days, some seasons, some years, it’s damn hard to smile at the sun. I’ve had friends say to me that I’m very good at finding things to be grateful for or that I’m a positive person, but I wasn’t always this annoying way.
I think a challenging childhood, the right books at the right times, and then a big knockdown in my late twenties to early thirties helped push me to figure out how to be a happier person. When I was going through a shitty time, trying to write down what I was grateful for didn’t work, but being in the moment (strangely enough) did.
It’s about figuring out what works for you, which is definitely no magic pill, no quick trick, or fast track to bliss. But for me it’s worth showing up and making the effort and realizing that those dickheads who cut the queue are still going to piss you off, but you might be able to let it go a little sooner and not let it ruin your day.
Some ideas:
// Daisy over at Simple Not Stressful suggests writing down 3 lovely things that happened to you at the end of your day. But she takes it a step further by putting it in her calendar so she can look back at a month or year and see so many good things she might have forgotten.
// Moksha at Happy Panda did a nice job of writing down all the types of lists we make, which got me thinking, why don’t we add ‘be grateful’ on our to-do lists? It almost seems too simple and easy.
// JML at JML297 shared Julia Cameron’s 100 things I love, so if you are into lists, you can get your gratitude on with five and then keep adding to them every day when you think about it, or get drunk and do it all at once. Or you can do twenty like JML.
The point is there’s no perfect way to be grateful or meditate.
Reminds me of Dan Harris’s book 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works–A True Story. I had no idea that he was some TV journalist so his story was really interesting. Anyway, this looks to be the audiobook for free online or you can check out other sites. I read it on my Kindle ages ago and enjoyed it.
Do you have a gratitude or meditation practice?
Life, the Universe, and Lani 
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