I’m grateful for a lot of things. Sunshine. Fresh, crisp sheets. Laughing ’til I cry. The first sip of coffee. Netflix binges.
There’s something magical about gratitude that takes you out of your head, out of trying to plan and control everything, and slap-bang into the right now.
But all too often we make gratitude all but impossible, because we’re working too hard supporting the walls we’ve built up to protect us from the uncertain and uncontrollable.
Sure, you might be able to intellectually appreciate that you’re grateful for what you’ve got, but that rationalisation is just another means of control. So the real question is:
How are the walls you’ve built stopping you from experiencing the gratitude and joy that’s here, right now?
See, gratitude is an honest expression of thanks towards something in your life, without needing it to be a certain way.
Gratitude is unconditional. You can’t say, “I’m grateful for what I have, but only when it’s going my way.”
It only works when you let go of your ego, your expectations and your craving for certainty, and embrace how things are right now, however they are.
REAL GRATITUDE REQUIRES THAT YOU MAKE YOURSELF VULNERABLE
Being grateful might feels exposing and it might even feel awkward or uncomfortable, which is what vulnerability feels like. But it also does three things:
- Allows you to be in the moment, however it is.
- Removes the need for the value of this moment to be conditional
- Builds your confidence in showing up in this moment.
Confidence is really just trusting yourself enough to be vulnerable.
The more naturally confident you are, the easier it becomes to open to vulnerability. Which leads to gratitude. Which leads to joy. It’s a circle.
So I’ll ask it again.
How are the walls you’ve built stopping you from experiencing the gratitude and joy that’s here, right now?
