I saw an interview with Michael J Fox talking about living his life with Parkinson’s disease. He spoke these very wise words about gratitude and it reminded me how important this emotion is to practice and to feel.
Gratitude is one of the most powerful tools for your toolbox. I’m not here to say chin up get on with it, just be grateful, because I know how damn hard it is to find the grateful in difficult times. It doesn’t mean being blind to the tough stuff or the messiness that can get all of us from time to time. What it does though, is help you notice the goodness in the world, in your life.
Gratitude makes sure that in the midst of all the things, even what we know or perceive as negative and crappy, we don’t lose sight of the good.
And science wise? Did you know that gratitude also has the capacity to increase important neurochemicals in the brain like dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin. Which do what? Increase and contribute to the good feelings that come with gratitude, like happiness, connection, hope, seeing a pinprick of light at the end of the tunnel.
There are processes like using a gratitude journal each day, listing up to 5 things you can be grateful for. Or, you can just think of one and speak it out loud! No matter how you choose to express gratitude, it’ll work it’s magic.
So today, I’m grateful for feeling loved by my family and friends. What are you grateful for today?
