HE’ART’ OF GRATITUDE

HE’ART’ OF GRATITUDE

Cultivating a heart of gratitude means having an appreciation for life in the present moment. It takes a living to be grateful for life. When your heart still beats, you have all the reasons in the world to be grateful and hopeful. It is easy to focus on everything that is going wrong in our lives that we lose sight of everything that went right. Gratitude comes from the heart, yet it is art that must be deliberately cultivated.

The art of gratitude means there is a way to live feeling thankful as a general state of awareness—on good days and not-so-good days, in times when things are going great or in times when things look and feel tough. – (unity.org). Without carefully cultivating the art, it is hard to sustain a heart of gratitude in such an insane world. Depression, low self-esteem, living fake life, being mean to others, suicidal thoughts are few of the symptoms of not cultivating the art of gratitude.

Here are 3 steps to building a heart of gratitude by cultivating the art of gratitude

A. RECOGNITION

The first step is recognizing that you have come a long way, you have survived so many obstacles that you at some point deemed insurmountable. Recognizing that there are forces working in your favour, tapping into your self belief to do wonders and take you beyond your obstacles. Recognizing that you have reasons to be thankful, seeing how far you have come and knowing you are a survivor. Recognizing that you cannot give defeat room in your heart no matter what you are facing. Recognizing that this current phase will also end in you overcoming.

B. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The second stage of gratitude is acknowledgment. It is easy to ignore the good things in your life especially when you are focused on your current problems. To cultivating the art of gratitude, you will have to look back and constantly remind yourself of things you overcame and acknowledge the good in your past. Acknowledge that you have not just been lucky but you have been blessed. Acknowledge that there are forces working in your favour through your belief. Acknowledge that for every night there will always be morning and to every problem there is a solution. Acknowledge that this problem, is just another phase.

APPRECIATION: When you see life for what it truly is and you acknowledge the good you have enjoyed in the past, you will definitely see reasons to appreciate everything and everyone around you. Note this, appreciation comes from both recognizing and acknowledging. Appreciation starts with people around you. Show your gratitude to people who have helped you in the past, people who have stood by you when it felt like you would not be able to go on. Say thank you to friends, family, coworkers and neighbours who cared enough to wish you well. Appreciate yourself for putting in the work and never giving up. Appreciate yourself for never losing faith and for being open to corrections when life teaches you lessons. Finally, appreciate the life you have which gives you reasons to hope and pursue a better tomorrow.

It is easy to get lost, drown in your sorrows and self condemnation but when you learn the art of gratitude and cultivate a heart of gratitude, you will easily see beyond the present because you have your past wins to remind you, you are more than whatever is thrown at you.