on being grateful

Sunday, August 7, 2022 3:22 AM 0 Comments

Hi! after years of ghosting, I'm back to writing again. A LOT has happened since my last entry, but right now I want to share something about practicing gratitude. 

Just recently I decided to start gratitude journaling as part of my practice on improving myself and being mindful. As I was writing down things that made me grateful that day, questions started popping in my head that made me re-think about how I see being grateful. I wanted to share them here for anyone who is struggling with being grateful, or learning how to be:

Do I need a reason to be grateful?
I know that the answer should be no, but in reality, my mind was always looking for a reason. I thought about the times where I should have been grateful, and realized that I tend to have thoughts like "Is this really a good enough reason for me to be grateful for? Isn't this something silly or too mundane?". Reflecting on it, it seems silly, but I have always rationalized with myself to the point that it needs to be logical or special for something to be grateful about. Maybe this also happens to you, which you need a bigger, grander reason for being grateful that's hindering you.

If your answer is yes to the previous question, why does there need to be?
So I went a little meta with this and asked myself another layer of "why". Was there a particular reason or origin as to why I need to have a reason for being grateful? My guess is that it stemmed from my experience in a Christian household. You know, when every Sunday there was a segment in the service that asked people what we were grateful for (and connect it to God) and share it with everyone. For the first few years, I think I was being sincere, but I remember now how it would feel like I need to step it up or say something grand for it to be valid.

Is that what's hindering me to be more grateful?
This question was rhetoric as the answer for me was pretty much a yes. I realized how I got caught up with what I was supposed to be grateful for; thinking that I need it to be something extraordinary or grand for others to admire (or even envy, yikes!) or for them to be proud of too. I realize now that there wasn't supposed to be any reason for you to be grateful, you are grateful just because you chose to be.

I hope this helps you as much as it has helped me in my journey to be more grateful. :)

xx