Practice, Progress
Gratefulness is not a feeling; it’s a practice.
-Rabbi Shefa Gold-
I would rather be able to appreciate things I cannot have
than to have things I am not able to appreciate.
-Elbert Hubbard-
These quotes arrive daily in my email, thanks to Grateful Living, a website with the very fitting address of grateful.org. When I first came across the website, about 15 years ago, it went by “A Network for Grateful Living.” It’s been a good fit for me and a consistent source of inspiration with quotes, poems, articles, and much more. It also led me to become a pioneer host for Grateful Gatherings when they first began in 2019. I continue these monthly gatherings virtually.
I appreciate that the name is now even more direct, simplified down to two words: Grateful Living. That’s my jam too! That’s not a stretch to see, since my first blog was titled “Habitual Gratitude” and this one is “A Late Bloomer Living Gratefully.” My practice goes back thirty years, when I began my first gratitude journal. It continues to evolve. And grow. And significantly transform my overall well-being. And leave me awestruck. And I also forget it.
It’s my jam, and it’s my challenge. The key word for practicing gratitude isn’t thanks, but rather presence. Be here, now. Pay attention. Pause. Breathe. All of those “simple” things that I can make complicated with a busy mind, an overthinker and overdoer to my core.
If you want to start a grateful living practice but aren’t sure where to start, I encourage keeping it simple—pause, tune into your breathing, feel your feet where they are, maybe put your hand on your heart, maybe even write down a couple things. That’s all. That’s a promising beginning.
When I pay attention, I notice helpful reminders, like this one when I was on a run in a new area on some recent travels. It was on the back of a sign. It may have been reminding drivers to slow down, but it sure felt like it was meant for all of us in this fast-paced, overstimulated world of excess we can find ourselves in.
Slow down. What’s the hurry? Be present. Where’s the joy? Practice makes progress possible.
