I have expressed the need to be thankful for people by writing three blessings down or being more grateful about what you have in life. Now, if you have the belief that there is nothing to be thankful for or repeatedly say “it could be better,” stop right there. Even anyone with dire circumstances can find things to be grateful for. There are so many stories out there with people diagnosed with horrifying diseases and experience traumatic life events. It is crazy to see how resilient most people are when it comes down to these things; they are partly due to gratitude. I will say that mental disorders or feelings of anxiety are severe and may make it difficult to be thankful for things. But it is okay, this blog will look at how you can find gratitude, and I can promise that repeated efforts will work in your favor.
To start, I would like to give one of my favorite quotes from Milton’s Paradise Lost. The quote is that “the mind is its own place, and in itself / Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.” The quote means that anybody can be happy with their situation, but it depends on the interpretation. For example, if someone is living in the slums of any country in the world. Sure, there will be some people who are miserable and lose all faith in themselves. Others may organize protests attempting to fix the issues of urban slums and will find enjoyment in the friends and family they have in their situation. Using gratitude, these people will be grateful for the connections they have with others and for the strength they gain from their appalling situation. This is not an argument to retain slums, but you can see that people can make the best out of their lives in any situation they are in.
Some good examples of how to find gratitude are shown in an article called “Here’s What O Readers Are Most Thankful for This Year.” The author explains that the pandemic has been terrible for her family. These things included not being able to see a sister’s newborn baby, not seeing her son be able to play with any children, and barely being able to remain in public spaces because of a delicate immune system. The perpetual fear of the pandemic prevents the author from experiencing a happy day without a pandemic because these negative feelings may occasionally feel “unbearable.” The author also explains the diagnosis of their stage IV colon cancer diagnosis at age thirty-five. The author explains the medical procedures that occur with this serious disease but then switches to the point of deep gratitude. The author began to notice the son’s eyelashes, the smell of warm blankets, the crunch from rost autumn leaves, and the beautiful night sky. Following this, the author states that “gratitude is the child of attention. When we stop to take in what’s before us, a single moment becomes suddenly divisible into thousands.” This quote is phenomenal because I would have to agree gratitude comes from the attention given to things you find value in. The important thing here is the emphasis that anyone can find gratitude in any way you see fit. I would recommend reading the rest of the article because they provide more examples of people finding gratitude despite terrible events in their lives.
Gratitude can take many different forms (I will give some examples to induce your creativity). Every day I am grateful to be able to admire nature. I will occasionally go on walks, peer out my window as I am doing work, laying on the beach watching the waves, and watch the landscape and clouds as I drive my car. I tend to find myself staring at my surroundings until five minutes later, my friends ask me what I was doing. I always say that I am enjoying the view because it is beautiful and calls me crazy. I savor the ability to admire nature, which speaks to me on a deep level like nothing else.
Another example is the gratitude I feel for my life’s meaning. Whenever something rattles, I find it difficult to forget. From relationships, things related to my disease, and the future’s uncertainty, I feel horrible at times. Yes, I may have a smile on my face at all times, but like other people, things get to me. However, I find value in the lessons I learn from these scenarios. These things motivate me to be who I am and research the degree of things I do. After all these difficulties, I found the things in life that are most meaningful to me. Without all the events and people who have upset me, I would not know who I was today. Even in the negatives, I find some value as they help me actualize my meaning for life.
Additionally, I feel the most important piece of gratitude is the connections I have had or continue to have with any person. Whether it is an acquaintance, a romantic pattern, a close family member, or a friend, I feel gratitude for every single one of them. They provide me joy, teach me lessons, and expose my flaws for growth, which is why that connection is so meaningful for me. I try to have these happy connections with as many people as possible. Any single moment with one person can have so much value, but it all comes down to how you see these experiences. If you feel not gratitude or feeling overtly anxious, how are you to have these connections, experience more joy, or learn how to improve yourself. If you think you do not need anyone in your life, you are one hundred percent wrong. Now I am not saying you need someone to be there with you continuously, but you need to communicate with other people due to the significant benefits. If you feel gratitude for these interactions, you are more inclined to welcome them into your life and take something valuable from them. Please try to be grateful for any connection you feel with anybody as this my primary reason for living. Without these connections, I would be nothing.
If this does not spout any ideas, let me offer some advice. The things you feel gratitude for do not have to be significant. Please identify one thing in your life that makes you feel happy and then be grateful for it. Has anything made you feel wonder or awe, be thankful for it. Do you have a connection with anyone, feel thankful for it. Have you had an event that dramatically changed you and made you into something you can be proud of, have gratitude for it. Every day, I would recommend finding different things to be grateful for as it expands your awareness and can spur many positive emotions. I hope this blog post made it easier for you to feel gratitude about things. Just know, no matter your circumstances, take my word that there will always be something to have an appreciation for; it is only a matter of figuring out what gives you any sense of positive emotion or meaning and have gratitude.
