"Try A Little Gratitude"
Today I am grateful for a good training run yesterday morning and the "pleasure" of nature's power as we watched my son's football game in a wind-driven, cold rain. (Actually, what I really appreciated was getting back home, into dry clothes and warm again.)
I am also grateful for the poetry I have written and the healing and growth it has brought. But I so appreciate the poetry of others, especially my sister Aileen. She has a knack for taking an idea and putting it to poetry in a way that is often pointed and stark, but also alive in a way that only she can create. She is my kind of a poet. Recently she was pondering "has anyone ever been injured practicing gratitude?"
Here is a little jewel of a poem that came out of that musing:
Try A Little Gratitude
It couldn't hurt
could it?
No one has been injured
practicing gratitude,
have never heard
"I tore my anterior
appreciation muscle
from overuse."
Thank you Aileen! You helped validate an important truth for me. I benefit greatly from my daily gratitude practice. I have never experienced gratitude "burnout." Sure, there are days when I may be less focused in my pursuit of gratitude and more "going through the motions," but I find that those days are few and far between. It's like a runner training for a marathon. A rest day here and there rejuvenates me for the long run.
There's more exercise analogies here too. Muscles that are used and stretched regularly are much less likely to tear or pull. Gratitude that is practiced regularly is much less likely to be taken for granted. And a known fact among those who exercise regularly (at least I can confirm it) is that routine exercise doesn't exhaust us, it gives us more energy. Ditto with routine gratitude practice.
And one final analogy. It's best to train for things like a marathon over a period of months. It's not recommended to go from no running to trying a 5K. It takes time to make progress and notice the benefits. You will likely be sore and struggle at times as you get into shape.
Gratitude practice takes time. You may want big results quickly. Most things worth having and working for don't play out that way. Gratitude is no different. But like exercise will start giving you free endorphins right away, habitual gratitude practice brings immediate results in terms of less self-pity and more staying present in the moment. Some of the longer-term rewards, like a better perception of self and surrounding world, won't happen overnight, but each gratitude workout will take you a step closer.
Try it. Give that anterior appreciation muscle a workout. Keep trying it. And when you feel like giving up, consider this quote: "Don't quit before the miracle happens."
I am also grateful for the poetry I have written and the healing and growth it has brought. But I so appreciate the poetry of others, especially my sister Aileen. She has a knack for taking an idea and putting it to poetry in a way that is often pointed and stark, but also alive in a way that only she can create. She is my kind of a poet. Recently she was pondering "has anyone ever been injured practicing gratitude?"
Here is a little jewel of a poem that came out of that musing:
Try A Little Gratitude
It couldn't hurt
could it?
No one has been injured
practicing gratitude,
have never heard
"I tore my anterior
appreciation muscle
from overuse."
Thank you Aileen! You helped validate an important truth for me. I benefit greatly from my daily gratitude practice. I have never experienced gratitude "burnout." Sure, there are days when I may be less focused in my pursuit of gratitude and more "going through the motions," but I find that those days are few and far between. It's like a runner training for a marathon. A rest day here and there rejuvenates me for the long run.
There's more exercise analogies here too. Muscles that are used and stretched regularly are much less likely to tear or pull. Gratitude that is practiced regularly is much less likely to be taken for granted. And a known fact among those who exercise regularly (at least I can confirm it) is that routine exercise doesn't exhaust us, it gives us more energy. Ditto with routine gratitude practice.
And one final analogy. It's best to train for things like a marathon over a period of months. It's not recommended to go from no running to trying a 5K. It takes time to make progress and notice the benefits. You will likely be sore and struggle at times as you get into shape.
Gratitude practice takes time. You may want big results quickly. Most things worth having and working for don't play out that way. Gratitude is no different. But like exercise will start giving you free endorphins right away, habitual gratitude practice brings immediate results in terms of less self-pity and more staying present in the moment. Some of the longer-term rewards, like a better perception of self and surrounding world, won't happen overnight, but each gratitude workout will take you a step closer.
Try it. Give that anterior appreciation muscle a workout. Keep trying it. And when you feel like giving up, consider this quote: "Don't quit before the miracle happens."
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