Many of us probably don’t think about gratitude all that often in our day-to-day lives. Although most of us will habitually focus on what’s going wrong – the feelings of rejection, the losses, hurts and our imperfections. It’s easy to draw our attention away from what we have and into that dark place of what we don’t have or think we need.
Being grateful doesn’t mean we deny what’s wrong or difficult or unfair in our life – gratitude shifts our focus from what our life lacks to the abundance that’s already present. The truth is that each of us has something good in our life that millions of others don’t. And when we are regularly mindful of what we have to be grateful for, we can be happier, more resilient, our relationships strengthen and our burdens often lift. Gratitude enriches human life, no matter what our situation.
No doubt though, gratitude doesn’t seem to come as easily as grumbling, so it really does take practice. There are many methods to develop the practice of gratitude – a “gratitude journal” is one of them! It consists of writing down a few things each day for which you are grateful. Some days it may be the basics – your home, a friend, the flowers you bought yourself, your health, your pet, a comfortable bed to wake up in.
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. So, take a moment and truly think about all the things for which you have to be grateful. QCBN
By Monika Einsporn
For more information about Highgate Senior Living and all the ways we help our residents enjoy the highest quality of life possible, please contact the Prescott Highgate Senior Living Community: www.highgateseniorliving.com
1600 Petroglyph Point Dr., Prescott, AZ 928-227-1592. Monika Einsporn, the community relations coordinator at Highgate at Prescott, can be reached at 928-541-1400.