-
A Love List
Never finish the list. Let Me Count the Ways Love, like gratitude, is a practice. Every day, every moment is another opportunity to experience and communicate love. Just because we love someone doesn’t mean the act of love is set in stone. We reaffirm it with our thoughts, beliefs and actions every day. And just…
-
This Is Why I Like the World
Finding other words for gratitude Such a Simple and Beautiful Phrase I stumbled across a beautiful tiny story that Elizabeth Gilbert shared on instagram. It is a brilliant story of gratitude that did not include the word gratitude. Once upon a time I went for a walk and met a beautiful horse, and we made…
-
Spring Blooms by the Light of the Moon
Seeing Spring in a New Light Spring Equinox Full Moon Last night to celebrate the spring equinox and full moon I decided to go outside under the full moon and immerse myself in nature. I love being out in nature and I am often grateful for plants and flowers and wildlife and weather and mountains…
-
Speak : Think : Believe
Alignment is the key to authenticity. Bringing Your Gratitude Into Alignment Sometimes I feel like a gratitude fraud. There, I said it. I feel like this because I’m not always grateful. I’m just not. And that’s OK. Because gratitude is a practice. And like all practices it is just consciously choosing to work at something.…
-
Holding Boundaries with Gratitude
Sometimes I say, “it’s ok” and sometimes I say, “thank you”. How Do You Respond To, “I’m Sorry”? Previously I have written about saying, “thank you” instead of “I’m sorry” but today I want to focus on how we respond to an apology and the role that gratitude can play. This was inspired by two…
-
Meditation and Gratitude
Quieting Your Mind to Make Space for Gratitude Find Quiet to Find Gratitude Sometimes gratitude hits me out of nowhere like a punch to the throat. Leaving me overwhelmed and choked up with emotion. Other times it is a whisper of a thought that taps at my attention. Noticeable but just barely. Often when I…
-
Day to Day Divine
A blessing in words, rainbow mandalas, and healing hands. Gratitude as a Spiritual Practice It took me three years of practicing gratitude every single day before I started to see it as a spiritual practice. I finally saw that it is a way that I pray and a way that I feel connected to god.…
-
Grateful for My Ex
A chart-topping pop song is all about gratitude. Thank U, Next There has been a theme lately for me about gratitude for my exes. First, during therapy we have been talking about my past relationships, the good, the bad, what I learned and how I grew. Then, this popped up in my fb feed memories:…
-
Throwback: It Isn’t about Leading a Charmed Life … Or Is It?
Issue #1 redux Sometimes I Look for Gratitude and Only Find Worry Sometimes I fear when people read my gratitude posts they think that it is easy for me because I have such a great life. When that fear emerges I want to tell everyone who will listen my woes about money and business and…
-
Escape Into Presence
When I Worry Sometimes I Look for Gratitude and Only Find Worry I write out my gratitude every night before bed. It is a wonderful routine that usually involves reflecting on my day with a positive lens. There are times when my positive lens doesn’t work or I can’t seem to find it and I…
-
But Is It True?
The only gratitude rule that matters. Until The Truth Came Out Last night I was writing my gratitude and I was a little distracted. That was my first problem. I’ve learned that the key to practicing gratitude is to be present. So I took a few mindful breaths and began again. But then I got…
-
See Things Differently Feel Things Differently
Reframing aka Reappraisal and Emotion The Practice of Changing Our Minds Gratitude is a powerful tool for reframing or reappraisal which is simply intentionally seeing something from a different perspective. The benefits of reappraisal can not be understated. It helps us to: have empathy communicate more effectively with people who are different than us open…
-
Is Negativity Realistic?
Bell Hooks calls it absolutely disenabling Negativity Stops Me in My Tracks I am currently reading All About Love by Bell Hooks where I came across a wonderful passage exploring negativity, positivity and taking responsibility. Because we have learned to believe negativity is more realistic, it appears more real than any positive voice. Once we begin…
-
Download: 2018 Gratitude Anthology ebook
A Year of Gratitude: 52 images, quotes and prompts A Beautiful eBook to Guide a Year of Gratitude I always love creating the yearly anthology ebook. It is inspiring to see the lovely spreads of gratitude images, quotes and prompts. I hope you enjoy taking in each of the beautiful pages. [su_button url=”http://www.ourgratitudecollective.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/A-Year-of-Gratitude-2018.pdf” background=”#24a9e1″ color=”#ffffff”…
-
All the Brilliant Things of 2018
Download: Reflecting On Your Year With Gratitude Reflecting on the Brilliant Moments This time of year brings such mixed feelings for me. At times I feel extremely connected and valued. Other times I feel lonely and insecure. I go from feeling happy to sad to relaxed to bored sometimes all in one day! The introspection that…
-
Disconnecting for and with Gratitude
Sometimes I am grateful for my phone and computer. Other times … Untethered Gratitude Sometimes I am grateful for my phone and computer and all I can do with the internet at my fingertips: taking in art and music, learning, finding what I need, feeling seen and connected through social media. Other times I feel overwhelmed,…
-
What Are You Welcoming into Your Life?
Yes. This is what I want more of. Please, Come In I like to think of my gratitude practice as a list of what I'd like to see more of in my life. By saying "thank you for being here" I am also saying "thank you, come again". And it feels like it works because…
-
Grateful to Notice
Let’s put down our phones and pay attention. Appreciating and Honoring Through Our Attention Last week one of our members shared a post to our FB group about gratitude as a result of paying attention. (Thank you, Forest!) And as you all know I am all about the three part gratitude process: Notice, Appreciate, Share. That…
-
A Recipe for Getting Out of Your Own Way
Do you know how all this gratitude started for me? Living Your Best Life Before gratitude became the focus of my work and even before I started practicing gratitude, I used to use it as a tool to help people on their path to creating the life they wanted. I was doing health and wellness coaching…
-
A Life of Giving Thanks
A day like the one before. Or is it? We Don't Have a Day of Thanks. We Have a Life of Thanks. Sometimes my days and weeks go by in a blur. One day seems to be virtually identical to the one before. Work, read, write, eat, repeat. But then each night I sit and…