GRATITUDE, MONTH BY MONTH
Every month we'll be offering a theme that explores universal, cross-cultural, and perennial wisdoms related to the cultivation of gratitude. These tools, reflections, and practices are from Angeles Arrien's book, "Living in Gratitude" and can be a resource guide, available to you at any time. Gratitude is a disposition, it’s a choice we make. More than any other resolution or goal, it will improve the quality of our mental health, self-esteem, and relationships. Please follow along this year as together we all deepen our experience of gratitude and its related qualities - thankfulness, appreciation, compassion, and generosity. 🧡 Thank you for being here.
JANUARY IS THE MONTH OF NEW RESOLVE AND NEW BEGINNINGS.
Photo by Norman Parkinson
It is named for the Roman god Janus, the two-headed god whose one head faces the past while the other faces the present & future. January offers the opportunity to make a fresh start and do things differently, to free ourselves from habitual patterns, to improve our life internally and externally.
PRACTICE ONE
START RECOGNIZING IN YOUR LIFE THE FOUR UNIVERSAL ENTRYWAYS TO GRATITUDE:
1. BLESSINGS- Blessings are those experiences we hold as “the good” in our lives. They are gifts that open doors to healing, connection, meaning, and transformation. Giving gratitude for our blessings is a way to recognize and honor them.
2. LEARNINGS - We do not grow without learning. These challenges help us stretch, reexamine, explore, take risks, and rise to new levels. It is from our learnings that we are able to understand what is meaningful for us. In hindsight, our challenges or learnings are often blessings in disguise.
3. MERCIES - Mercy alleviates distress through acts of forgiveness and kindness. Merciful acts generate thankfulness, both in those who have initiated them and those who have benefited from them. When we behave with compassion and mercy, we are more able to forgive ourselves for the harm we have caused and forgive those who have harmed us. A true gift.
4. PROTECTIONS - Every culture has practices, prayers, and rituals to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe from harm, injury, or attack. The act of giving or receiving protection is a gift of love. Which one(s) of these have you experienced this week? Can you feel grateful for the small and large examples you’re noticing?
PRACTICE TWO ENTERING THE YEAR WITH CHILDLIKE CURIOSITY Sufi tale by al-Ghazzali “Children have five qualities and if adults had these same qualities, they would attain the rank of saints.
1. They do not worry about their daily bread.
2. When they fall sick, they do not complain night and day about their misfortune.
3. Whatever food they have, they share.
4. When they fight or quarrel, they do not keep grudges in their hearts, but make up quickly.
5. The slightest threat makes them frightened and brings tears to their eyes.”
In what ways are you manifesting these five simple qualities of childlike openness?
What childlike curiosity and wonder are you currently bringing to your work, relationships, health, personal growth?