Living In Gratitude
Today, 21st September is celebrated as World Gratitude Day.
Gratitude is a frequent theme on my blogs, because adopting an attitude of gratitude has been a life changing experience for me. Seeing the good in all circumstances. giving thanks for every experience, has helped me to change my outlook on life, become more creative and live a more meaningful life. Learning to live in gratitude has been such a blessing that I want to keep sharing about how this practice can help others too.
There are simple ways in which we can make gratitude a part of our daily life.
Keeping a gratitude list or maintaining a gratitude journal
Keeping a record of all the things we’re grateful for works as a good reminder to stay grateful. Importantly too, it can have other tangible benefits too.
“According to a study by researchers from the University of Minnesota and the University of Florida, having participants write down a list of positive events at the close of a day — and why the events made them happy — lowered their self-reported stress levels and gave them a greater sense of calm at night.” – Arianna Huffington in Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder
Saying Thanks
Saying thanks to all the people who make our lives easier – family, friends, service personnel, wait staff – is a simple way to live in gratitude. Never taking people for granted – courier, the refuse collector, the bus conductor, sometimes our genuine words of thanks can light up someone’s day. Writing thank you notes takes this practice a step further, making people feel that their kind gestures are acknowledged and they are valued as people.
We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude ~Cynthia Ozick
Volunteering and Small gestures of kindness to give back or pay it forward
Volunteering your time, skills and energies to causes that make a difference to others or doing random acts of kinds can help to set off a gratitude wave.
World Gratitude Day is a reminder and an opportunity to reflect on all of the blessings we have in life. Let’s start living in gratitude every day.
World Alzheimer’s Day
Today is also World Alzheimer’s Day, part of Alzheimer’s Month. The theme for World Alzheimer’s Month 2016 is Remember Me.
Every 3 seconds, someone in the world develops dementia. The impact of September’s campaign is growing, but the stigmatisation and misinformation that surrounds dementia remains a global problem.
Today as we focus on gratitude, we must spend time on thinking about all those who are living with dementia or those who may have passed away, their families and caregivers.
Let us not take our life and faculties for granted. With gratitude, let’s pledge to do all we can to make the lives of others meaningful too.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Living In Gratitude and remembering those with Alzheimer’s #everydaygratitude #RememberMe” quote=”Living In Gratitude and remembering those with Alzheimer’s #everydaygratitude #RememberMe”]
Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can ~ Dalai Lama
We invite you to join us today to write on gratitude related themes, share your personal experiences, share a gratitude list. You may also want to share stories of people you know who are struggling with dementia. Non-fiction pieces, poems, stories – we welcome them all. This linky will be open for the entire week. Write, read, share and make a difference.
Vasantha Vivek says
September 22, 2016 at 12:36 pmCorinne, beautiful post. Grateful to you !!! When our heart beats with gratitude then our life will be filled only with happiness !!!
Gilly Maddison says
September 22, 2016 at 1:31 amI am grateful that I have a safe place to live and that I still have my parents as I go into my own mature years. So many blessings – too many to list.
Angel Stew & Devil's Brew says
September 21, 2016 at 11:52 pmI’m grateful for you Corinne and all the ways you find for us to share our words! I’m a little wobbly but I really trying for consistency in this. Thank you for being you!
Pratikshya Mishra says
September 21, 2016 at 10:13 pmGratitude has helped me a lot too.. i think the peace of mind i feel these days is all because of feeling thankful.. 🙂
Dashy says
September 21, 2016 at 10:01 pmFirst month in college has been exhausting for me, in this mess and being unable to catch up with blog posts, a special day for gratitude is welcome. So glad to be a part of this. And truly, it is sufficient to express our gratitude in our prayers. 🙂
Bhavya says
September 21, 2016 at 5:13 pmYour posts about Gratitude make me think about all the blessings I have in my life… to make it an attitude is taking longer than I thought it would 😛
But then, I am willing to practice for as long as it will take and regular write ups on gratitude do help 🙂
corinnerodrigues says
September 21, 2016 at 6:28 pmBhavya, it’s not easy and it took me several years to consciously do this. I’m looking forward to reading more of your gratitude stories. Thanks for joining us today.
Bellybytes says
September 21, 2016 at 4:03 pmI have a lot to be grateful for . Corinne you are right about feeling grateful . I remember I’d once mentioned to you I’m scared of acknowledging my gratitude for fear of attracting negative energy but you put things in perspective . Thanks as always for being inspiring and motivational. I am grateful I met you online!
corinnerodrigues says
September 21, 2016 at 5:01 pmIt was easy to respond to that comment of yours, Sunita, because I’ve had those same thoughts in the past. We manifest what we believe and I do believe in gratitude and abundance.
I’m glad to have met you both offline and online. I hope you’re making the best of your working holiday.
Radhika Mundra says
September 21, 2016 at 3:57 pmI stumbled upon this truly beautiful quote today, ‘If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough’. Loved your post, Corinne! 🙂
corinnerodrigues says
September 21, 2016 at 4:55 pmOh yes, I love that quote from Meister Eckhart. These days ‘thank you’ is the only prayer say.
Alana says
September 21, 2016 at 3:53 pmWe have to start small, with just one act, to help to repair our world. Today is a good start, but we have to do this everyday. What you point out is how much the practice benefits ourselves. I made a start years ago, but this inspired me to do more.
corinnerodrigues says
September 21, 2016 at 5:03 pmYes, baby steps is what will help us change the world, Alana. What happens is that we often have too big an agenda and give up along the way. Today is also International Peace Day, and your comment about repairing the world is so relevant.
Ankita says
September 21, 2016 at 2:17 pmThe moment I came to know about World Gratitude Day (by you in Write Tribe FB group), I knew that I would celebrate it <3 Loved your post, Corinne!
corinnerodrigues says
September 21, 2016 at 4:58 pmSo happy to be the bearer of ‘Gratitude News’, Ankita.
Deepa says
September 21, 2016 at 1:50 pmIs it ok to share an old post or only new ones?
corinnerodrigues says
September 21, 2016 at 4:53 pmIdeally a new one, Deepa.
Nabanita Dhar says
September 21, 2016 at 12:55 pmCorinne, you won’t believe but I just published a post on gratitude and it has the same excerpt from Arianna Huffington’s book which I’m reading these days! 🙂 Coincidence?
Well, I’m having a hard time these past few days and I’m trying to bring some sort of inner peace through practicing gratitude. Hope it works.
corinnerodrigues says
September 21, 2016 at 4:57 pmLike I told you in the group, I do believe you, Naba! 🙂
Ironically, I just found out that it’s International Peace Day as well. What you say makes so much sense. Gratitude has brought me peace time and again.
Reema D'souza says
September 21, 2016 at 12:55 pmAn attitude of gratitude indeed makes our life better. It is only when we count our blessings and are thankful for all that we have, we can lead better lives.
corinnerodrigues says
September 21, 2016 at 4:56 pmRight you are, Reema. You’re blessed to have found that out rather early in life. It took me a lot long to internalize the message.