Gratitude in the Present Moment
Gratitude practice is super, super awesome. It moves the spotlight of our attention to the bright side of things in life, even when the going has gotten tough and we are feeling that burdensome mugginess. Our brain is built to stick to our negativity biases, our cavewoman/manlike tendency to keep an eye out for danger in the dangerous world we still think exists. But, if we practice gratitude consistently, we can start to completely rewire our brains! We can start to ditch this old, unnecessary habit of focusing on what sucks and become more naturally grateful. The glass half fullness is seen with more ease, in our everyday experience.
Much of that unease in life, stress, worry, whatever shape it comes in, comes from our relationship with time. Repetitive thoughts of the future bring anxiety, worry, fear. Imagining what could happen. Stressful ones of the past often take form as regret, anger, sadness, guilt, etc. The present moment, though, is where all the good is at! There are no burdensome thoughts here! Its where you, and life (!), is truly taking place. And if we are pulled away from that by our thoughts, negative OR positive, as we alllll are, we miss much of what is happening in front of us. And when you miss it, you miss it indefinitely…
So as a merger of gratitude practice, which shifts our perceptive habits to highlight the many, many gifts of life, and makes living life more pleasant, and training ourselves to stay in the present moment, we can reflect on what we are grateful for, specifically in this very moment! Doing so will cultivate presence, leave negativity bias in the dust, and awake our general sense of contentment.
Doing this requires examining the finer details, the little things in life, the “mundane and repetitive”, and the overlooked. But the good news is that there are SO MANY OF THESE TO CHOSE FROM. In every moment. Here are some to reflect on, because life is really good, and even in hard times, there is so much to be appreciative of.
Are you breathing? Are you alive? Thanks lungs! Thanks heart! Are you safe right now? Is there any threat to your life, or can you carry on with what you are doing without fear of danger? Thanks safety and privileged environment I was born into!
Do you have clothes on your body? Are you at a reasonable temperature right now because of this? No frostbite? Thanks clothes! Thanks good fortune to have access to these clothes to wear right now! And clean ones too (most of the time, sometimes we double up on those stinky undies…thanks freedom to do so if we want!).
What’s going on right now? Do you have good company around you? People who care about you, listen to you, make you laugh? Aren’t you super blessed to have someone to talk to? And how bout the ability to form words, language, with intricate and complex movements of your mouth, voice box and breath? The ability, too, to hear with your ears and understand what they are saying, which sounds like gibberish to the untrained ear! Can a gopher sing Bohemian Rhapsody, hit all the high notes and have a clue what its about? No. He or she just goes “Mahhhhh”, then pops back underground for another nap. Pretty impressive, our ability to translate sound and language. Thanks ears and brain!
What about music? Are you able to access and listen to a vast catalogue of beautifully orchestrated sounds and songs, pretty much whenever you like? Yep, thanks interweb, global connectivity, and streaming music services. What about the fine details of the song you are listening to? This part, right now. The graceful piano chords, or that fire beat?! The bass drop!!! Be grateful for the heart and soul the musician put into their work so that you can feel these feels right meow.
Do you have a nice view right now? Do you have a break from work or school right now? An opportunity for rest and relaxation? Be appreciative to have that moment to decompress, and enjoy it!
These are just some of endless examples. We miss so much in life, in this moment. Its nothing to worry about though, its totally understandable! There’s a lot going on these days, a little much for our brain to process without taking the shortcuts is built to use. And we all share this tendency, so don’t ever think you are alone on the journey.
So, it takes some conscious, genuinely fun, effort to practice and change that up. Give it a shot and reflect on what comes most naturally to you! You can reflect in your head, perhaps by listing and visualizing, out loud, to a friend, in a journal, or record a voice note. Make a list! Draw pictures! You can be as detailed or simple as you like. There are plenty of guided meditations you can find on the bajillion apps out there or on youtube. Take note of how you feel during the process and after. I can almost guarantee you will feel lighter. Smile while you do it! Remember that feeling and you’ll be more likely to come back to this practice consistently. It feels good. Life should.
In general, it’s powerful to reflect on things that you are grateful for in life, even they’ve come and gone, or aren’t right in front of you now. Don’t think you cannot include reflection on people in your life that may not be in front of you, or awesome experiences you’ve been lucky to afford, for example. Those are important pieces of the practice, as well. But if we can draw attention to the many good things that are here now, we cultivate a sense of presence to go along with that gratitude, increasing our awareness of the gifts we’ve always got right in front of us. With that will come a sense of stable contentment that endures all circumstances, even the tough ones, making life rock even more.