Use of Force
Today I am grateful for a cool morning, good coffee, the recliner I am sitting in, and this blog.
Someone recently wanted to tell me that gratitude should never be forced. It made me think. Do I force it? I concluded that there is a difference between feeling grateful and practicing gratitude. Gratitude itself should not be forced. If it is not sincere, people can tell. Gratitude itself is an inner feeling experienced by an individual toward someone or something else. It can be shared and multiplied, but it can't be created where there is not a willingness for it.
But gratitude practice, like any other healthy practice, at times may feel a little forced. That is okay. That is part of our humanness. I don't graduate from gratitude practice just like I don't graduate from recovery from alcoholism. It is day to day. Each day is new, and each day requires it's own effort. In the effort, we find meaning and motivation.
Have you ever had to push yourself off the couch or away from the computer to get yourself out the door to exercise? Have you ever had to force yourself to walk away from an enticing dessert or high-calorie meal when you were trying to lose weight and watch what you eat? I know I have.
Gratitude practice at times may feel like that too. I put it in the same category as exercise and food. Most of the time I am motivated to make good choices and I always feel better when I do, when I push myself to be healthy. But there will always be days when I feel less inspired, when I feel self-pity instead of gratitude, when I will take the "easy" way out.
It is important to separate the idea of gratitude practice from the emotion of gratefulness, however. I can push myself to practice gratitude when needed, but the emotion is not forced. It can't be. It has to be realized and allowed in.
The key is that by practicing gratitude, even on those days when I would rather not, it allows me to feel more mindful and more appreciative. Exercising gratitude through practice keeps me in better shape just like exercising my body by running keeps me in better shape. Better shape means better perceptions of self and surrounding world.
Someone recently wanted to tell me that gratitude should never be forced. It made me think. Do I force it? I concluded that there is a difference between feeling grateful and practicing gratitude. Gratitude itself should not be forced. If it is not sincere, people can tell. Gratitude itself is an inner feeling experienced by an individual toward someone or something else. It can be shared and multiplied, but it can't be created where there is not a willingness for it.
But gratitude practice, like any other healthy practice, at times may feel a little forced. That is okay. That is part of our humanness. I don't graduate from gratitude practice just like I don't graduate from recovery from alcoholism. It is day to day. Each day is new, and each day requires it's own effort. In the effort, we find meaning and motivation.
Have you ever had to push yourself off the couch or away from the computer to get yourself out the door to exercise? Have you ever had to force yourself to walk away from an enticing dessert or high-calorie meal when you were trying to lose weight and watch what you eat? I know I have.
Gratitude practice at times may feel like that too. I put it in the same category as exercise and food. Most of the time I am motivated to make good choices and I always feel better when I do, when I push myself to be healthy. But there will always be days when I feel less inspired, when I feel self-pity instead of gratitude, when I will take the "easy" way out.
It is important to separate the idea of gratitude practice from the emotion of gratefulness, however. I can push myself to practice gratitude when needed, but the emotion is not forced. It can't be. It has to be realized and allowed in.
The key is that by practicing gratitude, even on those days when I would rather not, it allows me to feel more mindful and more appreciative. Exercising gratitude through practice keeps me in better shape just like exercising my body by running keeps me in better shape. Better shape means better perceptions of self and surrounding world.
Comments
Post a Comment