Spreading Gratitude
Writer / Molly McGlocklin
Photography Provided
I recently hit my 2,000th consecutive day of gratitude email messages to friends and family – 5.479 years of daily gratitude!
There is not a single habit that I’ve kept this consistently and, in the process, this practice has taught me a lot.
Before starting this practice, I didn’t hang out much in a state of gratitude regularly. For the most part, I hung out in a state of survival and suffering. Thanks to the repetition of this daily practice, mantra or even prayer of gratitude, my mind is slowly but surely becoming more primed to seek out what’s right versus what’s wrong.
I’ve also discovered that you’re never “done” with the practice of gratitude. It is a daily creation. Without working that muscle, our lizard brain will sail right back to everything that doesn’t work. Bruce Lee once said, “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” I’m excited to see what life will look like after 10,000 days of gratitude.
Lastly, I’ve learned that sharing gratitude can be even more soul-filling than keeping it all to ourselves. The gratitude contagion effect that happens when we don’t keep our appreciation for our lives tucked away can be a win-win for both the listener and us.
