Grateful

The day before Thanksgiving, I had to run out for the cocoa powder that I forgot to get at the grocery store earlier in the week so that I wouldn’t have to shop the day before Thanksgiving. As I drove through our town, with the gorgeous fall leaves and the crisp air, people out and about taking care of last-minute holiday things, I had this feeling of warmth just course through my entire body. Ah, I thought to myself. That’s it. That’s gratitude.

Just a few days earlier, a friend and colleague had posted something on her social media that put words to something I had felt for ages but couldn’t quite articulate. I don’t process gratitude in my head - I process it in my heart and in my body. It’s not a thought - it’s a full body feeling. This explains why I’ve always felt forced writing a daily gratitude journal.

I’m sharing Jaycee Cole’s words below in case they bring you a lightbulb moment in the same way that they did for me.

***************

I tried doing the gratitude journal thing on and off for several years. It never clicked.

I would sit there thinking “dog - damn I love you”

“blanket - I love this blanket” 

“fresh food - super grateful for that”

It was a brain activity, and it always felt a bit shallow. To be honest, I did it for the check mark in my little habit tracker. 

However, one day I was in a yoga class and my teacher said, “What does gratitude feel like?”

It clicked. 

Gratitude is a felt sense.

I feel it.

Held in each cell of my body. 

So, now I pause mid-day and let the green of the trees brighten my eyes.

Let my heart rate slow as my pup’s fur wraps around my hand.

I feel joy flood through my veins as I look at photos of my family.

Gratitude is an embodied practice. 

There’s no right way to practice Gratitude. But, it is a good practice to have. Studies show that people who acknowledge what they're grateful for have a higher level of happiness. 

For some, it might be talking about it around the dinner table at night. Others might love writing it down on a daily basis. For me, it’s breathing in my girls’ hair when they climb into bed with me, the feel of the cool air on my daily fall walks, and the warmth that coursed through my entire body last Wednesday. 

Thank you for reading. For sharing your stories with me. I feel it in my body every time I hear from one of you. It's an undeniable feeling of gratitude.