Debra Smouse's Blog - Posts Tagged "faith-baldwin"
November 2021: on Gratitude
“We are never more than one grateful thought away from peace of heart.”
--Albert Schweitzer
In the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving in November. It’s a time to celebrate the blessings of the harvest, our families, and honor the good things in our lives.
It’s the season of gratitude.
One of the most life-changing practices in my life was when I began keeping a gratitude practice. Especially during the times that I have been consistent with a written practice. It's how I begin and end my day lately. In my favorite chair with my journal.
Though I was doubtful it could really make a difference more than fifteen years ago when a therapist first suggested it... I discovered that gratitude invited me to find love and nourishment within my own life even during the most challenging of seasons.
Because what gratitude does is help you not just find what’s good in your life. It’s a path to celebrating your victories, finding grace in the midst of failure, and sowing the seeds of compassion.
Especially self-compassion.
When you practice gratitude, you learn something that many of us are hard pressed to do: to actually receive the blessings in our life. Because it's so easy to be bombarded with what we SHOULD be grateful for...or feel guilty for having what seems like a "privileged " life, that doesn't mean it always feels that way.
Otherwise, gratitude can become just one more thing on our list. Or have a heavy quality to it.
Instead, it's a saving grace. Something you need in abundance in our imperfect lives. And it's a great companion to the pursuit of goals and the tending of our daily life.
You see, a gratitude practice helps you re-wire your brain to the positive.
Because, unfortunately, we humans are wired to the negative. Granted, this is honestly so that we can figure out the worst case scenario to SURVIVE in the wild, but I think the days of being chased by lions and bears is pretty much over.
So, what a gratitude practice actually does scientifically is it helps create new thought patterns in your brain – so that in times of stress or challenge, our thoughts can seek a positive trail rather than the negative ones.
Another reason I wanted to make the theme of this month's love note "Gratitude" is because I've noticed that no matter where I go these days, I am running into grumpy or negative people.
Cranky fellow shoppers. Drivers are incredibly aggressive these days. And let’s not even mention the news. That’s why it’s especially important these days so that we don’t let all the negativity bring us down, too.
To be honest, though I used to see a lot of beauty and gratitude in November everywhere, even social media, this year feels different. Which is all the more reason we need it more.
Not only are we met with tough times thanks to the news and the ongoing COVID restrictions, but this year we seem to skip from Summer straight to the push of buying for the Christmas season.
And, while I understand that supply chain issues are making the need to shop ahead necessary, the bombardment of advertising and email can feel overwhelming.
SO. Much.Email and noise, right? So, though I could ramble on about gratitude, I’m going to keep this note short.
Oh! But before I go: we are two months from 2022. So, subscribers can receive (for free) my "Word of the Year" Guidebook:
I've been choosing a Word of the Year since 2005...around the same time my therapist recommended a Gratitude Practice as a way to find more love, joy, and pleasure in my life.
And as a way to pay that forward, I have been lovingly and joyfully creating a workbook for YOU since I began my coaching practice in 2011 to help you discover your own Word of the Year.
I find that this is the perfect time of year to begin reflecting on the past year....and looking ahead to the coming year.
If you celebrate the season, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
If you'd like to read the November 2021 love note in full, you can do so here.
And, if you'd like to receive my Monthly Love Note, sign up here.
Many wishes for a healthy and happy month ahead.
Here's to celebrating our blessings, honoring our wins, and seeing the grace of gratitude in our lives.
--Albert Schweitzer
In the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving in November. It’s a time to celebrate the blessings of the harvest, our families, and honor the good things in our lives.
It’s the season of gratitude.
One of the most life-changing practices in my life was when I began keeping a gratitude practice. Especially during the times that I have been consistent with a written practice. It's how I begin and end my day lately. In my favorite chair with my journal.
Though I was doubtful it could really make a difference more than fifteen years ago when a therapist first suggested it... I discovered that gratitude invited me to find love and nourishment within my own life even during the most challenging of seasons.
Because what gratitude does is help you not just find what’s good in your life. It’s a path to celebrating your victories, finding grace in the midst of failure, and sowing the seeds of compassion.
Especially self-compassion.
When you practice gratitude, you learn something that many of us are hard pressed to do: to actually receive the blessings in our life. Because it's so easy to be bombarded with what we SHOULD be grateful for...or feel guilty for having what seems like a "privileged " life, that doesn't mean it always feels that way.
Otherwise, gratitude can become just one more thing on our list. Or have a heavy quality to it.
Instead, it's a saving grace. Something you need in abundance in our imperfect lives. And it's a great companion to the pursuit of goals and the tending of our daily life.
You see, a gratitude practice helps you re-wire your brain to the positive.
Because, unfortunately, we humans are wired to the negative. Granted, this is honestly so that we can figure out the worst case scenario to SURVIVE in the wild, but I think the days of being chased by lions and bears is pretty much over.
So, what a gratitude practice actually does scientifically is it helps create new thought patterns in your brain – so that in times of stress or challenge, our thoughts can seek a positive trail rather than the negative ones.
Another reason I wanted to make the theme of this month's love note "Gratitude" is because I've noticed that no matter where I go these days, I am running into grumpy or negative people.
Cranky fellow shoppers. Drivers are incredibly aggressive these days. And let’s not even mention the news. That’s why it’s especially important these days so that we don’t let all the negativity bring us down, too.
To be honest, though I used to see a lot of beauty and gratitude in November everywhere, even social media, this year feels different. Which is all the more reason we need it more.
Not only are we met with tough times thanks to the news and the ongoing COVID restrictions, but this year we seem to skip from Summer straight to the push of buying for the Christmas season.
And, while I understand that supply chain issues are making the need to shop ahead necessary, the bombardment of advertising and email can feel overwhelming.
SO. Much.Email and noise, right? So, though I could ramble on about gratitude, I’m going to keep this note short.
Oh! But before I go: we are two months from 2022. So, subscribers can receive (for free) my "Word of the Year" Guidebook:
I've been choosing a Word of the Year since 2005...around the same time my therapist recommended a Gratitude Practice as a way to find more love, joy, and pleasure in my life.
And as a way to pay that forward, I have been lovingly and joyfully creating a workbook for YOU since I began my coaching practice in 2011 to help you discover your own Word of the Year.
I find that this is the perfect time of year to begin reflecting on the past year....and looking ahead to the coming year.
If you celebrate the season, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
If you'd like to read the November 2021 love note in full, you can do so here.
And, if you'd like to receive my Monthly Love Note, sign up here.
Many wishes for a healthy and happy month ahead.
Here's to celebrating our blessings, honoring our wins, and seeing the grace of gratitude in our lives.
