Gratitude is a Currency
Gratitude is currency. When we think about currency, we often associate it with money. However, in essence, currency is just a medium of exchange, this for that. We purchase what we think we “need”. But when we take an honest look at those “needs”, they often aren’t needs at all. They are a reflection of our never-ending effort to acquire or achieve the things that we feel will bring us our most basic needs, security, happiness, and love.
How often have you found yourself believing that “If only I could get _______ (this job, house, love), then I will be ________ (enough, happy, confident etc.). We essentially live in this “never-enough” culture. Not only that, but as humans, we are predisposed to have a negativity bias. Our brains are wired to be more strongly influenced by negative thoughts, feelings, and events, than by positive ones of equal value. So even when 99% of our life is working out, we will find ourselves focused on the 1% that isn’t. Essentially what this means, is that we operate from a place of lack.
But what if,
just for one moment,
you believed that you had enough;
you were enough;
Couldn’t that completely change the game?
Well here’s the truth:
Gratitude. Changes. Everything.
Gratitude is a practice that turns what we have into enough. Many studies by top universities have shown that the simple act of expressing gratitude directly affects our levels of happiness and therefore our ability to live from a place of abundance. So what if, instead of exchanging money for something that would fill the void of “never-enough”, we exchanged gratitude for what we already have? In one of the most well known and studied texts of yoga philosophy, The Yoga Sutras by Patajali, he names Santosha as a foundation to living a yogic lifestyle. Santosha, is loosely defined as contentment, but in deeper understanding it means that we are at peace with this moment, as it is and as we are.
In our current climate, we have a beautiful opportunity to notice the lack that exists around us, more present than ever, but to also recognize the abundance. The abundance of connection despite social distancing, the abundance of love and care for those in our lives, the abundance of time and the opportunity to explore who we are and what gives us meaning.
Like any practice, gratitude takes time and effort to change our default setting from one of lack to one of abundance. Below you will find some tools and exercises to help cultivate a wider practice of gratitude.
1. Gratitude Walk - take a walk outside and leave your phone and distractions at home. Allow the space to immerse yourself in the present moment and start to take inventory of all the things surrounding you that you are grateful for (Eg. the warmth of the sun against your skin, the crisp, fall air, a smile from a stranger, the falling of the colourful leaves, the ability to walk, the ability to breathe).
If a walk isn’t available, take 5 minutes in the morning before your day begins and start to find gratitude for the simplest of life’s pleasures (smell of morning coffee, silence and stillness, early morning sunshine etc.)
2. Watch “An Experiment in Gratitude, The Science of Happiness” by SoulPancake, and complete the experiment yourself. Write a letter to someone that you appreciate and has had a major impact on your life and then call them up and read the letter to them. Remember to be specific and give the letter the concentration it deserves.
3. Journal about a negative experience or even that has happened in the past week/month. Start to put things into perspective by asking yourself the following questions:
What’s good about this?
What can I learn from this?
How can I benefit from this?
Is there something about this situation that I can be grateful for?
Additional Gratitude Journaling Prompts:
Acknowledge one ungrateful thought and transform it into something that you are grateful for.
Something good that happened this week
Something about your family that you are grateful for
Gratitude for a friendship and why
Find something silly that brings you joy
What went well today? Ask yourself why that happened and start to notice how you can be the curator of your own happiness
Gratitude Jar
List one thing a day that you are grateful for, no matter how simple
Write it on a piece of paper and place it into the jar
When you are feeling negative or need a pick me up, open up one of the notes to remind yourself of the abundance around you