Continuing with the Sacred Practice series…let’s explore something that is mostly only thought about during this time of year…Gratitude.
What if…
What if we gave thanks everyday of the year…what if we gave thanks to the little things we overlook cos’ life is just too busy? I believe when we live in a space of gratitude the Universe continues to give us things to be grateful for. I know sometimes life can feel heavy, but you know its during those hard times, that is when we most feel alone, especially if you are a lone wolf as I see myself to be. But here’s a secret…we are never alone…everything is connected with one Universal heartbeat, and that…I remind myself of everyday and give thanks to as well.
I give thanks often…
for our safe travels, giving thanks and blessings for our meals, and aside from the obvious things to be grateful for…I also give thanks in my morning and evening rituals to those whom I share this Earth with. To the two legged, four legged, winged ones, swimmers, crawlers, even to the hidden folk, and to the Elements. To my helping Ancestors, Spirit and Animal Guides, to the energy that lives in the lands we travel through and bodies of waters I stand by and to our plant allies.
But I also make it a point…
to see the little Magickal Daily Blessings that are in everyday life. Those little blessing we sometimes tend to overlook in all our busyness. When I first started a gratitude journal, after a few days I felt like I ran out of things to write but quickly realized, when we take a moment and look beyond the obvious we see those little magickal daily blessings. Like how the sun shines just right through your window, or the bird calling out atop that tree on your hike. You get my drift…there are a lot of things to be grateful for everyday…you just have to take a pause and look at the beauty around you. And yes, even on the crappiest of days…there will still be beauty there to see.
Making gratitude a daily practice…
helps you have a tool to lean into when times are hard. Even in the darkest times…we can always find something we are grateful for, even if its the lessons in that particular struggle. By no means am I saying it’s easy, but it’s in those moments that we need our tools the most.
Your gratitude practice can take on many forms…most keep a gratitude journal. I like this practice because it’s an alchemical practice. We take the emotionally charged energy of the grateful thought and put it on paper…giving it life through the written word.
In 2015, I created a gratitude jar, I called it my Magicakal Daily Blessing Jar. I purchased small post-it notes and everyday I would write something I was grateful for. At the end of the year, I dumped out the jar and read each one, it was really powerful to revisit my year that way. That practice later spilled over into my love of photography and now I take a picture a day of something I’m grateful for.
Gratitude and Giving go hand in hand…
Even if we are not in a financial position to give away a monetary contribution, we can still give the gift of listening. I mean really listening…not waiting for someone to finish talking so you can say what you want to say. We all find ourselves doing this…but take a moment and give the gift of listening you will be surprised the difference it makes in someone’s life. A coach of mine recently shared something he does that really shifts people who are in auto-mode. He asks them “what was the most exciting thing that happened to you today? It stops them and makes them think. We can also giving a smile to a stranger or just giving someone your time, by volunteering etc. There are so many ways we can give to others.
I like to share my photography online as a way to give as well. Sometimes I add quotes to my photos, to bring a smile to someone’s face. I often wonder about those who can’t get out in nature like I do so often and hope that, that sunset or that flower I share brings some light to their day.
This time of year I’ve always done some sort of thanksgiving project with my kids whether it was drawing turkeys with our hands and writing what we were thankful for one each feather (finger), or writing on leaves we collected outside and creating a garland. We’ve had several variations of Thankful Trees as well. This year we are doing a light tree and adding a leaf a day with one thing we are grateful for.
Here’s a wonderful diffuser blend I like to use to invite Gratitude…
3 drops Wild Orange ~ Oil of Abundance
2 drops Lime ~ Oil of Zest for Life
1 drop Douglas Fir ~ Oil of Generational Wisdom
How do you practice gratitude?