Last week's question was, "What's ONE Thing you can do to Grow Your Gratitude?" I said I was going to revive my practice of writing down 5 things each day that I am grateful for. A couple of days last week, I was in bed when I remembered I hadn't written down my 5 things, so I thought of 5 things and wrote them down the next day. Even though that was kind of cheating, it still resulted in consciously being aware of 5 things to be grateful for each day. It also resulted in some positive shifts in my perspective.
Last week both my children were in hockey championship playoffs. My daughter's team hosted their provincial championship tournament. It was a lot of work for the players and
parents, but everyone all came together. It was a wonderful event for everyone and somewhat unexpectedly, my daughter's team won the Gold Medal Final Championship game! So it was pretty easy to find things to be grateful for in that circumstance. Writing down what I was grateful for only amplified the positive feelings I had about that experience.
My son's team, on the other hand, were on track to be in the City Championship final and then had 2 disappointing losses resulting in their elimination before getting to the final. It was a little harder to search for things to be grateful for in that experience. So I had to dig a little deeper to come up with my 5 things. But when putting pen to paper, it really wasn't that hard after all. I could come up with tons of things: my son's team had time to rest before hosting their provincial championships this upcoming weekend, they didn't have any injuries, they still had the opportunity to end their season on a high note. Outside of some of these kinds of ideas, I could also be grateful that my son is healthy and an athlete or that he's a good student. Or I could be grateful for things not related to my son or hockey at all, like grateful for my own health, for the warm spring weather, for the beauty of an early morning sunrise.
I think gratitude gives me perspective and an opportunity to focus on the wonderful aspects of life instead of dwelling on the disappointing or painful aspects of life. The harder life is, the more helpful it is to find something to be grateful for. When you are in real pain or grieving, sometimes gratitude can be as simple as being grateful for getting through one moment at a time.
So switching gears, but with a grateful attitude, I will pose this week's question. What is ONE Thing you could do this week to nurture yourself? I picked this question because I felt like I have had a busy month filled with lots of work and also lots of fun activities. I love having a full life, but sometimes when I have had an exceptionally busy stretch of time, I appreciate the opportunity to cocoon for awhile. However, I have another busy week filled with some work (including my son's big provincial tournament) and fun (celebrating my milestone birthday - not saying which one). So my ONE Thing this week is to simply block off 2 hours on my actual birthday, where I don't have anything planned. I think carving out that space for myself in the midst of this week's activity will feel like an Oasis. It feels like the exact kind of nurturing my soul is craving. I'll let you know if it turns out to be a great as I am anticipating it to be.
What about you? What would feel nurturing for your soul? You might be the opposite of me and crave more activity. Nurturing means caring for and encouraging growth. What would make you feel cared for and encourage your growth? It could be as simple as a walk, time to read, a visit with a good friend, doing a favourite activity, cooking a special meal. Choose something that feels like a hug, or hot cocoa and a warm blanket on a cold day. Make it something special. And whether you choose to do something that is simple or extravagant, pick something that feels luxurious to your soul. I hope you truly enjoy the ONE Thing you pick for yourself!
I'd love to hear what you do. It might give me and other people ideas for what we could do for ourselves. Feel free to share in the comments below or in our Weekly ONE Thing Facebook Group!
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