In July 2008 I began the daily habit of selecting something I was grateful for and noting it in my diary. Gratefulness is one of the most powerful emotions we can have and for me the daily habit of reflecting was a moment of quiet and stillness as the world rushed around me. My experience of being grateful is whole of body; like a large sigh without the angst, or the feeling of a warm bucket of water tipped down my back.
The notes of my Diploma of Ontological Coaching course suggest the following way of thinking about the mood of being grateful.
- I assess that I have been and am the beneficiary of many possibilities in life
- I assess myself to be very fortunate to have experienced these possibilities and benefits
- I declare that I am grateful to the world in general, and also specific individuals for this enrichment
- I also declare that it is a privilege to be alive
Today I will reignite my habit and bring it to the new world. A tweet a day with the hashtag #gr8fl. There is nothing too great or small to be grateful for as I have previously acknowledged:
Update 7 January 2010—I’ve not been able to develop this habit the way I would have liked to. The gratitude is there. The habit of posting on Twitter isn’t.
- Warm socks to put on my feet (mid-Winter item)
- The opportunity we had to swim together as a family
- The patience of my wife
- Microwave popcorn
- Learning that gratitude is a feeling and not just words.