Gratitude. Week 2

Gratitude seems to be flourishing right now.  At a national level there has been our collective recognition of gratitude for the wonderful NHS.  We know it has imperfections and limitations, but I am every day grateful for having an NHS system where each of us will be cared for if needed.  And I am grateful for every courageous worker who braves it on the front line.  For someone who struggles to get to the Coop once a week, what they are doing each day is incredible.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.


I wondered if it was "right" to choose gratitude for this week knowing that there is such a serious health situation going on close to home?  But this is the paradox of living alongside more suffering and uncertainty than we are used to: it makes us grateful for the things that we do have.  Maybe in the normal busyness of life we can take many aspects of our lives for granted.  Perhaps it is exactly this uncertainty, scarcity or loss that opens up our hearts a bit wider.

I've felt immense gratitude for being able to get enough food to eat each day.  I have always been thankful for our local organic farm and my weekly muddy vegetables.  But I have never felt such gratitude towards each individual in the food chain from grower, transporter to shop.  How on earth did they manage to grow, process and transport all of this with our countries in "lockdown"?

So gratitude isn't meant to push aside our real struggles or concerns.  If it is done in the tone of "you live by the sea just be happy even with a pandemic going on" it can grate.  But if gratitude is seen as some rays of sunshine coming through the grey clouds, it brings some warmth or balance into the present moment.

A simple practice that I do anyway is to think of three things at the end of the day that I am grateful for.  Some people write them down.  It takes two minutes but I notice that it always lifts my spirits a little.  And helps my busy mind to just look beyond the current "situation" to see small moments of life that are okay right now.  The three things can be "big ones" like good health, or tiny moments such as a lovely mug of hot chocolate on a chilly Easter Monday.

Here are my 3 things I'm grateful for today.

I'm grateful that we have an NHS service that we can all receive treatment from.
I'm grateful for all the fresh vegetables we have from our organic box and local Coop.
I'm grateful for being able to walk by the sea today and hear the sound of the waves.


Comments

  1. Susannah HApril 16, 2020 at 4:55 PM

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    1. Susannah HApril 16, 2020 at 4:59 PM

      Lovely blog, thank you Sue. Yes, I think it's always 'right' to choose to be grateful. It just happens that the conditions we find ourselves in make it a lot easier to appreciate just what we do have. I'm feeling gratitude for your blog! Stay well xx

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