Gratitude

In a little book entitled ‘The Little Book of Gratitude: Create a Life of Happiness and Well Being by Giving Thanks’ by Dr. Robert Emmons he defines gratitude as: ‘A scientifically proven way to increase happiness and encourage greater joy, love, peace, and optimism into our lives.’

‘Gratitude is, first and foremost, a way of seeing that alters our gaze.’

This is powerful!

Are things really the way that they seem? If I change my perspective and look at a situation from a different angle would it look the same way? Is the glass really half empty or is it half full?

What are you grateful for? Can you find one thing every day to be grateful for? Can you find two, or even three? I am fascinated by the way that the brain works. Perhaps in a former life I was a psychologist or psychiatrist I don’t know. Many moons ago I attended a workshop in Boston MA where the presenter was exploring the relationship between learning and the brain. He had worked in a school that was either connected to or located inside a hospital for children I can’t remember but he shared some of his experiences of working with children who had issues of various kinds. One story stuck with me that I would like to share.
Essentially there was a boy who was a challenge to deal with in the classroom. He wasn’t focused on his work and had behavioural issues. He was however fixated with animals. Everything in his life revolved around animals, how they behaved, where they lived, what they ate, how to interact with them etc. He knew everything about them and if he didn’t know he went to find out. So, what did the school do? They made the boy the caretaker of the school pet. I think it was a bird. He made sure the bird ate, his cage was clean, he was entertained and everything else that went on with caring for a bird. His behavior improved, his teachers focused their lessons around birds just for him and his academics improved. It was a win win situation. They found something that he was good at and they incorporated it into enhancing the life of the school. The teachers were grateful, the boy was grateful, his parents were grateful because what was once seen as a challenge could actually be viewed in a different way.

When life throws what looks like a challenge it you, rest assured, life also provides the solution for you too even though you can’t really see it clearly at first. Develop a sense of gratitude to be able to look at things a different way to get a clearer picture of what challenges in life you might be faced with. Gratitude gives you that X Ray vision to see things differently so that a life of happiness, love, joy, optimism and peace can be ours to enjoy more and more each day.