By Marianne Clyde
OK, I admit it. I don’t always jump out of bed in the morning full of excitement for the day. I’m guessing you don’t either. Sometimes I have to drag my &$$ out of bed to walk the dogs. Today was one of those days and here’s what happened.
As I was grumbling to myself at 5 am in the dark, fumbling for a flashlight, wondering why the dogs can just sleep in for once, I suddenly had a thought.
“Thank you for these sweet dogs; I don’t know what I’d do without them.” Then my train of thought began to follow another path that created a matrix of gratitude. Weaving a web of things to be thankful for, one thought led to another as I sought out related gratitude bombs. Thank you that my old dogs are really still healthy in so many ways: they poop, the pee, they eat, they wag their tails. Instead of focusing on their struggles, I became overwhelmed at how they really bless my days.
Then I applied the gratitude matrix to everything else. Instead of complaining to myself, I guided my thoughts to how blessed I am. Looking at the oil spots on the street left from trucks the are always parked along our curbs, I became thankful for the accessibility to help that we have here in my neighborhood: pool builders, friendly garbage collectors, golf cart repairmen that come to your house, tree services, landscapers, lawn care guys, movers, power washers.
Instead of “ragging” about the dark, I became blissfully aware of the stillness, the waning crescent of the moon, the traffic in the distance that reminded me of the abundance of cars and transportation options. I love the quiet. I love being the only one outside at this hour. I love how it’s warm yet cool at the same time.
I am thankful for my healthy almost 70 year old body: that my legs carry me around so well, for strong bones and muscles, health, the ability to see and hear smell the freshness of the morning air.
You get the point. Once you start with one grateful thought, you just sort of play it like a ‘“word association exercise.” [Always the therapist.] And before you know it, whatever veil you seem to be carrying around with you just drifts off and it is replaced with the brightness and lightness of joy.
Great way to raise your vibration. You can do it anywhere at anytime. It works.
Action step: Think or say one thing you are grateful for; then see how you can connect that to other things. How big can your gratitude matrix become? How does that lift your spirits?
