Living in Gratitude

There are many times throughout the day when it’s easy to get overwhelmed, angry, irritated, and feeling like nothing you do matters. Those are the moments when we need to stop and be grateful. I realize that those are the moments that we have the hardest time finding gratitude. I’m a mother of a teenager, a 6 year old, and a baby on the way, to say I am the picture of Zen right now, or ever if I am being truly honest, is laughable. I raised my children to stop when life seems to be spiraling, take a few deep breaths, and find something to be grateful for in that moment.

It’s a lesson that I am learning right along side of them. My 6 year old has been known to drop into lotus pose in the middle of a store aisle because he, in his words, “needs to breathe”. He closes his eyes, rests his hands on his knees, and meditates right there in the middle of the store. Those moments never last longer than 3-4 breaths, but they are all he needs. He opens his eyes in a better disposition than when he closed his eyes.  How much easier would our own lives be if we took “our moment” when we needed it rather than try to push through whatever it is that is bothering us. That’s when we need to find gratitude.

When I say find gratitude in the hard moments, what I mean is to find a way that your challenge is a blessing. Mound of dirty dishes? Find gratitude in the fact that you have enough food to create all those dishes and the means in which to clean them. Car broke down…again? Find gratitude in the fact that there are people who can fix it, or knowing that you have the knowledge to fix it on your own. Stressing about something that you can’t find the silver lining about? Be grateful that you woke up this morning, that you are still drawing breath, or simply that you are conscious enough to deal with your issue even if you can’t see an answer/end to it just yet.

I realize that gratitude is something I talk about often and always fall back on. If you follow us on Instagram you have surely seen a post, or 7, about it. It is my belief that it truly makes that much of a difference. How much better would a life lived in gratitude be vs. irritation and anger? It is hard to get in the practice, truly. I will share a technique with you that I use daily to remind myself to find gratitude in the small moments of my every day life.

Every morning I put three bracelets on one wrist. You could use hair ties, rubber bands, rings, string, ect. These are specifically to remind me to find three reasons throughout the day to be grateful. As I find those moments, I say, “I am grateful for/that ….”, and then I switch a bracelet to the other wrist. I have been known to switch them back and forth throughout the day. Every time I notice those bracelets, it reminds me to find a moment of gratitude. It’s a quick simple thing that I do with a lot of intention behind it. Although lately I have gotten to the point where I find my gratitude moment and forget to switch the bracelets. It’s becoming more of a habit now rather than a conscious effort, which is exactly what I am trying to create.

Try it for a week! You’ll be surprised at the change in attitude finding gratitude can make in your life.

Before you go, let’s do a quick exercise together that you can do at any time, any place! Take a few deep breaths, go on. Close your eyes (if you are somewhere that is safe to do so. You know, not driving), fill your lungs, and exhale slowly. Do this at least three times. Then list three things you are grateful for.

Here’s my list.

1. I am grateful for the internet and the ability to share this information and my knowledge.
2. I am grateful that I have a working furnace and a clean air filter (it just dropped to 35 degrees at night here in Michigan, it’s a really big deal)
3. I am grateful for each and every one of our Lunar Family members and anyone who gets a chance to view, read, or be touched by this project!

If your list keeps going, run with it! I love doing this every night before I go to bed and every morning when I first wake up. It takes less than 60 seconds and can have a major impact on your life. We will be running a Gratitude Workshop in 2019. If you are interested, please shoot us an email and we will add you to the waiting list! We’d love to see you there. There will be more details in the coming months about this amazing workshop!

Until next post, Lunar Family!

Dayna