Gratitude, appreciation, and giving thanks

Although I don’t celebrate American Thanksgiving (I celebrate the Canadian version which was in October), the topic of gratitude was suggested as an article topic and so I’d like to take some time to consider it today.

Gratitude/Appreciation vs Attachment

First, I’d like to share something I read from the folks at The Secret. It explained the difference between Gratitude and Appreciation for something or someone, versus feeling Attachment to something, or someone. It explains that Gratitude and Appreciation are states of pure love, while Attachment contains fear – fear of losing or not having what you are focused on. This applies to an idea as well as items and people. For example, when we are working towards having something, it’s important to not feel too attached to the idea of having it, but to let the Universe do its thing in bringing it to you, to appreciate the process, and then focus on the good feeling that you know will come when you have it.

That’s my little Law of Attraction plug for today.

The feeling of Gratitude/Appreciation

Now back to Gratitude and Appreciation. I think that taking time to think about the things we are grateful for, is an exercise we do entirely too seldom. Once a year is really not enough, and I hope you remember to do it as often as possible, if not every day. Because while we work towards the goals that we have set for ourselves, the process of Gratitude is essential to adding to the momentum of bringing it to you. It doesn’t matter what you’re grateful for. It doesn’t need to have anything to do with your goal, at all. I can be working towards finding my partner and feeling grateful for my health, my financial stability and my friends and family.

What’s important here is to generate the good feeling that gratitude and appreciation bring 

and to milk it for as long as possible. Spending 5 minutes thinking thoughts of appreciation may not seem like it would have that much of an impact on your life, but over time, you will begin to see that it subtly changes your perspective; and your behaviour in general.

So what am I grateful for? What can I appreciate?

Well, I am appreciating this piece of music that I am listening to, right at this moment. It’s a beautiful, soft, mournful Celtic instrumental piece that always makes me pause when it comes on. I appreciate the headphones through which I am listening to it, which are a marvel of technology, really. Think about it! Do you know how someone can play music somewhere in the world, and have it transferred into tiny bits of data, not even on tape like it used to be, and then stored on my computer in the smallest chip ever created (do you remember how big your computer was 20 years ago?), and then sent through a cable, or (gasp!) wirelessly (that’s magic, right??), to these things that I put onto my head and over my ears, created purely for my own pleasure. Genius! I love and appreciate my laptop, which I purchased this summer, and is the smallest and lightest computer I’ve ever owned, and filled with all sorts of technological awesomeness that make my user experience enjoyable and effortless at the same time. I appreciate how this kind of technology is readily available and relatively inexpensive in the area of the world in which I live.

See how much appreciating I’ve done so far? And I’m still focused on my immediate surroundings!

Let’s keep milking it for a little while longer.

I appreciate the area in which I live. I live in this medium-sized city, where as a woman, I can take the bus to and from work every day, and feel safe doing so. I can feel safe walking home at this time of the year where it gets dark so early. The thought of potentially getting mugged never even remotely enters my mind. I can send my child to school every day and know that she is safe and well cared for while I work. I have such easy access to clean and nutritious food and water that I don’t even think about it from one day to another, or one moment to another. I am in good general health, and so is my daughter and my immediate family. And when we are not, I know that I have access to healthcare that is mostly cost-free. Sure, our universal healthcare system isn’t perfect, but I have to admit that it’s damn well better than having to pay for something as small as getting a checkup at the doctor’s office when I’ve had a lingering cough after a particularly nasty cold virus, let alone chemotherapy treatments if I ever had cancer.

I am so grateful for living in a country where I don’t have to worry about basic needs like food, water, shelter and safety; where my only problems are things like worrying about how long my internet connection will be down when there’s a glitch in the infrastructure.

I am grateful for having such a large and wonderful family. We’re French Canadian and a couple of generations ago, we bred like rabbits. In fact, they named our parents’ generation the Baby Boomers because there were so many of them. I get to benefit from that by having tons of aunts, uncles and cousins. And in my family, we’ve retained the value of family and still hold its impact in high regard. We still get together several times a year to celebrate holidays, and re-connect with each other. Whoever can make it, joins the party, and we all bring our kids. And at some point during the event, there’s always a moment of pause, while we appreciate that there are 3 generations in the same room. We remember what it was like when we were the little ones, running around, at family holidays (especially Christmas), while our parents sat, mingled, laughed, and sang together. And we marvel at how it still continues today, one generation later.

Practicing Gratitude

Take some time today, to try out this exercise. Think about who you are grateful for; the things or circumstances around you that you’re grateful for; maybe you’ve done something for someone or been the recipient of an act of kindness that you can appreciate. You don’t even have to sit down and write it if you don’t want to, although writing things down, especially lists of positive aspects, amplifies the effect.

And don’t rush it.

Really give yourself the time to breathe, and soak in the feeling of gratitude, as you start listing all the reasons that you have to be grateful and appreciative.

The power is in the FEELING of gratitude and appreciation; not just the words.

And don’t be afraid to dig into each item that you list. Use my example. I didn’t just say that I’m grateful for the music, my headphones, my computer, my city and my family. I dug into each piece and really milked all of the tiniest details that I could extract.

Gratitude/Appreciation creates change

It’s so easy to get caught up in the everyday rhythm of the “treadmill life” and to forget to notice and acknowledge the things that we appreciate and are grateful for. But if you develop the habit of doing this exercise, for only a few minutes a day (you can do it on your way to or from work, while you’re brushing your teeth, anytime!) soon you notice that your general outlook on life begins to change, and you start to notice more things to appreciate throughout your day; not just at that specific moment when you are doing the exercise.

For the same reason that we shouldn’t wait for Valentine’s Day to tell the people around us how much we love and care for them, we shouldn’t wait for Thanksgiving to appreciate and be grateful for the things, people, and circumstances in our lives. And when we choose to practice Gratitude every day, it becomes a part of not only the manifestations of our lives, but a part of who we choose to become. This is what it means to BE grateful.

What are you grateful for?

– Mel