After writing my blog about the connection between gratitude and good health, a friend sent me a post that used a great analogy to further explain the importance of gratitude.
If someone were holding a cup full of coffee, and got bumped, what happens? Coffee spills out. Why? Because that is what is filling the cup. If it were anything else in the cup, like tea, that is what would spill out. It begs the question then, what is in our my cup? What are we filled with?When we are filled with gratitude, any bump or struggle that comes along will emanate the gratitude. It is those situations, the ones where we react, that most honestly reveal what fills us. If we are filled with jealousy, bitterness, and resentment, that will most certainly come out in our reactions.So how do we fill our cup with gratitude and keep it full?
1) Appreciate the little things. My great uncle used to sit at the kitchen window and watch the birds in the bird bath. He would watch their happenings, their comings and goings, their squabbles. He knew all their patterns and it marveled him every time. My grandmother, his sister, who was also raised on the prairie, also appreciated the little things. She never ceased to be awed by the flowers blooming for the first time in the spring, the baby bunnies hiding behind the barn, the lambs frolicking across the pasture, and the winds blowing the fields of the prairie. It took me a long time to learn to see the beauty in these same things, but I am grateful for that lesson. When appreciate the little things whether it’s in nature, or the simple actions of someone near us, our cup will begin to fill with gratitude.
2) Keep a gratitude journal. I didn’t ever realize the power of gratitude journal until I started to keep one. I find it changes the way I think during the day. Instead of seeing the day as spiraling downward when one thing goes wrong, I stay focused on what I am going to put in my gratitude journal. Such a SIMPLE thing!
3) Count your Blessings. This quote has been around for a long time and is sometimes said in gest. But when we think about what it really means, we can use it to fill our cup with gratitude. Each day is filled with some good experiences and some bad. Once we get “bumped” or have a bad experience, it’s easy to focus on that and then keep focusing on the bumps. Since I’m a teacher, I’ll use this analogy: Each day I have between 20 and 25 students walk into my room. Out of all those students, 1 or 2 are likely to do or say something that doesn’t sit well with me. It is easy to get focused on that and then only see the negative in that class or for that class period. In the meantime, 23 other students are doing what they are expected to do and some are probably going above and beyond by helping somebody else, challenging themselves, or giving a task or assignment a little bit of extra effort. It’s easy to miss all that and become consumed with the misbehavior of a few students. However, at least for me, when I look around my classroom and see all the good, it changes my perspective. I have 23 other reasons to be grateful for what I do every day!
4) Find joy in your life. Joy is an overall feeling of contentment. Happiness is a moment of extreme joy. The more moments of happiness we feel, the greater our joy becomes. Seeking things that make us happy and bring joy will fill our cup. When I started blogging, I didn’t realize how much I found joy in writing. I knew I liked to write, but I didn’t realize the magnitude of joy it would bring me. Now, writing has become my outlet that brings me many moments of happiness. There are others, too. Each yoga class I teach brings me happiness and, as a result, increases my joy of yoga. So what makes you happy? What increases the endorphins in your brain? Find those things and do them often! The more moments of happiness we feel, the more joy we will have in our life.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/womensmedia/2016/07/08/8-ways-to-have-more-gratitude-every-day/#7945ac581d54
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