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| Snowdrops blooming in the garden today! |
Sometimes angels sneak up on us and whisper profound, life changing secrets right into our hearts. One Sunday, Pastor Peter hit me with a message so wise and helpful it took my breath away.
"The opposite of love is not hatred, but fear," Pastor Peter said. It was like he'd given me the secret handbook to life. The opposite of happiness is not unhappiness but fear, the opposite of courage is fear, the opposite of creativity is fear.
Fear is the one trump card the Crazy Old Lady who lives in our heads has. Her whole hand is the fear card.
Fear tells us you're no good, you're self-indulgent, you have no talent, you're embarrassing your family, you're too emotional, you are wasting your time, you are too old, too fat and too stupid....the list goes on and on.
Happiness shrugs it's shoulders and says, "Well it may all be true, but who cares?" It takes our big scary monsters and personal demons and shrinks them down to size.
Wonderful, just great, you may be thinking. Sign me up for that happiness pill, book, program, whatever it is because I could really use some tonic for the pile of unpaid bills, the kids fighting, all of the folks who made me mad this week, the harsh thing my sweety said last night and the pile of laundry getting moldy in the basement.
There's no book, no pill, no program. Here's how to let a little squeak of happiness into your life-- amplify your gratitude.
Just notice what makes you smile, feel a little warmer, a little lighter, stop resisting whatever is happening in your life, if only just for a second. Gratitude puts a stop to the ceaseless yearning and longing for something else. Gratitude allows us to take delight in whatever is right in front of us.
When I started noticing the warmth of sunshine on a late winter day, I could, just in that one moment feel a spark of gratitude. I'll admit it was slow going at first and required effort to find five things I could be grateful for each day. Day by day, it got easier to find gratitude in more and more things.
Research suggests that if you record at five things that you are grateful for each day, you'll feel happier. Just five, every day. Better than a pill more like magic, you'll feel happier!
One of my wise and busy friends, Lisa,--a mother of two, owner of her own business with a husband and two dogs (not sure how Andy will feel about being lumped in with the dogs, but he's friendly, loyal and trustworthy so hopefully he'll take it well) uses DayOne app to take a picture and record a one-word diary entry on her smart phone. However you choose to record your gratitude, just do it.
As a way to get you thinking about what makes you grateful here are 10 things in my life that make me feel grateful:
Notes from friends
Hanging laundry on the line
Wearing hats
Taking a walk
Sweet corn in August
Summer nights on the porch
Days spent on the water
Gardens, especially creating beauty in my own garden
And one bonus gratitude
First Snow
Dear ones I'd love to hear what makes you grateful. As a special thank you for sharing I'll be giving away this unique one-of-a-kind painting I made to one lucky winner who shares what makes you grateful in the comments below. Deadline for submissions is next Tuesday.
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