Be grateful

I’ve been prompted by some recent Facebook posts, to blog today about gratitude.  Many of my Facebook friends have been posting each day about what they’re grateful for and it’s really interesting to see that it’s not the big things they choose, but the small, seemingly insignificant things that get onto their list.

In our busy lives, full of targets and deadlines, responsibilities and commitments, hopes and aspirations, we can sometimes be so busy and stressed that we forget what we have to be grateful for.  And if you’re dealing with fertility issues, it can be easy to focus on what’s not working rather than what is working in your life.

When was the last time you paused to be grateful for the food you eat, or the home that shelters you, or the friends and family who support you?  Or the fact that you can just turn the tap and clean water rushes from it?  Or the fact that you can get your shopping delivered with the press of a few buttons? 

It’s all too easy to take the things and people in our lives for granted, and it can be a real challenge to find time to stop and catch our breath, never mind to stop to cultivate gratitude.  Try looking at the smallest things in your life and asking yourself what would life be like without them.

Really, give it a try, you may find it well worth the effort.  Being grateful for what you already have allows you to:

• pay more attention to all the gifts you already enjoy
• evaluate what you have without comparison to others
• appreciate that all you have is a real gift (especially the big stuff like friends, family, health, peace of mind – and sometimes even the bad stuff that might have made you stronger, wiser, kinder)
• have awareness and appreciation for the people and possessions and qualities that fill your life

Gratitude helps you to focus on the positives – what you have, rather than what you don’t have.  It helps you realise just how full and rich your life already is and that in turn helps you direct your attention to attracting more of the same. And although there may be many things in your life that you don’t have, a focus on being grateful for what you do have allows you to cultivate peace of mind.

Every day, write down three things that you’re grateful for and watch your peace of mind grow!