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 caught in a loop of bullshit. I wrote what I was grateful for and then realized it wasn’t even true. I typed and erased, typed and erased, until the truth came out.
Saying that makes it sound like some big and beautiful and profound truth. That couldn’t be further from the reality because after all the back and forth what remained was: “I am grateful for important readings.”
It doesn’t sound so profound and really it wasn’t. But what really matters is that it was true.
Truth is so fucking important when practicing gratitude. It is everything. Your gratitude practice is not the place for being fake or even being aspirational. It is the place for truth. Your truth. In this moment. Not what you think you should be grateful for. But what you are grateful for.
If what you write is not true then delete and try again. It doesn’t matter if it sounds good or looks good. It matters if you are truly grateful for it. It doesn’t matter if you have always been grateful for it. Or if you will be grateful for it in the future. It matters if you are truly grateful for it in that moment.
And that is all that this practice of gratitude is about. We find gratitude. We find it in big and small ways. In unexpected and expected places. We tell it in a way that is true for us. Then we do it again. And again.
We think sometimes we’re only drawn to the good, but we’re actually drawn to the authentic. We like people who are real more than those who hide their selves under layers of artificial niceties.
~Elizabeth Kübler-Ross
What are you truly grateful for in this moment?
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[su_note note_color=”#e7e7e7″ text_color=”#686767″ radius=”0″] My gratitude journey started in May 2011 and continues to this day. Thank you for being a part of it! A daily gratitude practice is simple. Write down three things you are grateful for each day. Download your free GratitudeGuide. My clients focus on gratitude and learn from their successes to make the positive changes they want in their lives. You can too. Call me to set up our first meeting 505.333.9336. [/su_note]