Spring Forward In Gratitude

“Spring forward.” That’s a little phrase to remind us which way to turn the clocks at the end of daylight savings time. Some see this clock changing business to mean the loss of an hour. Personally, I’m grateful for the time change because it means we are coming into springtime. We can learn from the flowers whose bulbs store up energy during the winter and come into their full bloom in the spring. I’d like to explore how we can spring forward with renewed energy in our lives by cultivating gratitude.

You may have heard of the idea to practice an attitude of gratitude. The advocates recommend you get into the habit of writing 5 or more things you are grateful for at the end of each day. Anything can go on the list, big or small: sun is shining; smell of freshly brewed coffee; waking up next to someone special; reading the sports page; seeing a baby smile; winning the bid; you get the idea.

You may be asking what writing 5 things at the end of the day would get you. Let me tell you. Even more to be grateful for!

First, let’s look at the benefits of cultivating an attitude of gratitude in terms of our health.

Researchers have found heart-centered feelings, those associated with appreciation, gratitude, and compassion; have a positive effect on our physiology. Specifically, when we’re holding feelings of gratitude stress hormone levels decrease, coronary arteries relax which increases the blood supply to the heart, heart rhythms become harmonious, and breathing is deeper and increases oxygen to your body.

We don’t have to become marathon mediators to experience these benefits. Dr. Robert A. Emmons, a professor of psychology at the University of Califo
ia, Davis, showed that people practicing gratitude daily, by writing a gratitude jou
al for example, reported higher levels of alertness, attentiveness, determination, enthusiasm and energy, than people who didn’t.

This idea of writing in a gratitude jou
al sounds simple, doesn’t it?

As with many simple concepts, it isn’t necessarily easy to do, at least not at first. It takes practice to remember to write in the jou
al. It takes practice to come up with things we appreciate. It takes practice to notice the changes in how we feel. I can tell you after keeping a gratitude jou
al for over 1 year, its habit forming, and it’s had a positive impact on my well-being.

Let me make a distinction. This isn’t thinking about things we’re grateful for; it’s about feeling gratitude.

From whatever state you are starting from, overwhelm, anxiety, stress, you can experience moving towards a better feeling state by writing down 5 things, any 5 things. I’ll give you three reasons why this works. First, you are making a mind and body connection when you put pen to paper. Second, as you write down 5 things, you are referencing positive experiences and re-experiencing them as you write about them. Third, you can more easily hold this feeling place of gratitude while writing. With this simple daily practice, you consciously choose to focus on something that makes you feel better (and that’s been scientifically proven)!

Here’s another way to look at gratitude. According to the Law of Attraction, like attracts like. The energy of gratitude attracts more to be grateful for! Through your expression of gratitude you are indicating to your subconscious and the Universe how much you appreciate what you have and would like more of that, please. (And thank you!)

And here is one better. Expressing gratitude isn’t just for what you already have. Your appreciation can extend to what you don’t have, yet. The mind doesn’t distinguish between what is imagined and what is real. To bring what you want into your present reality be grateful for it as if it’s in your present.

With gratitude you experience wholeness. Your body is healthy. You have a sense of an infinite source that will always provide.

“Faith is to believe what you do not see and the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.” Saint Augustine