The Power of Gratitude
I have said many times before on here that I don’t really read or listen to the news. Yet, once a week, I make an effort to listen to a podcast called Pod Save The World so that I stay somewhat up to date about what is happening around the world.
At the moment, there is a lot of turbulence going on, with wars, famine, climate challenges, culture war drama and destruction on many fronts.
How do I stay centred and calm despite all of these factors and remain active in society? The easy option would be to move to a cabin in the forest, turn everything off, and only deliver sessions via Zoom.
Gratitude
My first port of call is always gratitude. I’m currently living in a country where there is no active war. I have enough money to feed myself, and my body and mind are healthy overall. I’m not suggesting that we should gaslight ourselves or entertain toxic positivity; even so, we do need to retain some perspective on how good we have it if we can read these words.
Life is challenging sometimes, and feeling frustrated, grieving, angry, and all the other emotions destabilising us is fine. Yet, that has to be well balanced with reflective emotional intelligence to find a healthy way through.
Again, one of the ways through is gratitude, compassion and endless amounts of love for all.
Awareness
Throughout the day, we need to implement practices and rituals that help us become aware of the fleeting nature of our thoughts, feelings, and sensations because they are fleeting and never constant. I do believe in the human soul, but even that is ephemeral, and all the layering on top can always change.
My practice looks like about two hours of meditation a day and journaling.
You have to figure out what works for you. Anything that helps you notice and observe the unhealthy stories you tell yourself about yourself is valuable because so many will be untrue and work against your growth. Plus, the stories you tell about other people.
Empathy
Last week, I did a guided breathwork session with the brilliant Caroline Rose, who was also on my podcast. At the end of the session, the final insight that came forward was that, once again, we must embrace people's complexity. Everyone has a story, and there are no cookie-cutter ways to see people. We seem to strive for easy answers when it comes to people when there are none. Stop caring about what other people are getting up to, and do your thing.
Letting go
Last week, I also took a gong bath. I love gong baths. Towards the end of the session, I received another insight. I sometimes feel like my parents were not the ones I needed when, in fact, that is not true. I had precisely the parents I needed; otherwise, I would not be here right now typing these words. And that I’m quite happy about being able to do.
I am only able to receive this message because I practice looking inward and connecting with my body, intuition, and spirit guides.
💛 I love sharing my thoughts, feelings and ideas with you, and I hope you find them useful. I would greatly appreciate your supporting me with a paid subscription.
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