Write2Transform: Gratitude by Rochelle Melander
We’ve had a challenging week. My son and I have had a stomach virus. The weather has reminded me more of November than May. And today, right after I wrote and published a brilliant blog post (you’ll have to trust me on this), I updated my blog system. Oops! That small action wiped out my blog’s template. My web designer was able to fix it—but the blog post got lost in the transition.
In the midst of all this stuff, I’ve been trying to practice gratitude. I’ve been noting the small gifts of each moment instead of worrying about how I feel or how the flowers will survive. I make lists in my journal of these blessings. It helps. In the middle of feeling yucky, the lists remind me that there are joys in the present moment, too. (Yes, I feel sick and cold, but I am tucked under a blanket with a good book.)
So try this: a few times a day for the next week, list what you are thankful for in the present moment. If you have time, write about why you are grateful for these things. Think about how these blessings might shift your experience of the present moment.
That’s it! Happy Writing!
Thanks for sharing the pretty flowers 🙂
A friend sent this link to me:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34131527/ns/health-behavior/wid/11915773/?gt1=43001
It offers contemporary application of the wisdom in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “give thanks in all circumstances”. I especially liked the observation of the impossibility of being depressed and grateful at the same time. I have posted in the Health Room a quotation from Will James, from a Chicken Soup for the Soul book, that the greatest discovery of his generation was that we can change our lives by changing our attitudes of mind. The greatest freedom is the freedom to choose. I choose to give thanks.
I remember my mom’s description that the Bible didn’t say to feel grateful, it said to give thanks. Joni Eareckson Tada pointed out the contrast with Ephesians 5:20, “giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” I’ve heard myself say, “Thank you, Lord, for this situation that I do not like at all.”
The gift of a blank book and the recommendation of Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach started my practice of writing every day a question and five things for which I’m thankful. Sometimes clean dishes and clean laundry topped the list.
Our prayer group listed prayer items under “Thank you for” and “Please”. We commended lists when the “Thank you”s outnumbered the “Please”s.
I remember another pastor’s description of “Please prayers, Thank you prayers, and Sorry prayers”.
When I’d tell our pet rabbits they had to get into their cage because I had to go to work, I’d add, “And I’m glad I have a job to go to.” I remember hearing about unemployment in England and deciding that instead of griping about having to go to work, I should be grateful for having a job. I am.
Thank you, Rochelle.