On Practicing Gratitude

For the last couple of months, I have been practicing gratitude. I believe that doing so forces us to ‘be mindful’ as the Buddhists put it. That way we become more aware of what is happening to us at any given moment and we start living each moment more consciously and so get more out of life. Also if we get into the habit of being grateful for something, we will be conscious of its importance, and so unlikely to do or allow anything to be done to destroy what we regularly give thanks for. So, if we are regularly grateful for the food we eat, which we are aware of comes from our farm, and so and so helped grow it and transport it, we are likely to value the farm and the people who work there and their skills. We are unlikely to let the farm run to ruin or sell it out of hand. We are unlikely to disrespect the people who work there and lose the benefit of their abilities. And ultimately, all these things that we surround ourselves with are symbols of our wealth. If fact our wealth comes from these production systems we control. So, if we’d rather be wealthy and remain wealthy, practising gratefulness is a good exercise. Just, set aside a few seconds a day to mentally count the many good things you have enjoyed in the course of the day, and get started on practicing gratitude. Read more of this post