How Gratitude Can Be Simpler Than We Thought
Looking around the internet, it seems like being grateful is the most frequently recommended solution to many problems. Dozens of self-help books and articles have been published on the topic, encouraging us to keep journals, develop mantras, practice thankfulness meditation.
It’s true — being grateful will lead to more happiness, more appreciation, a more developed sense of awe. More ability to be present, alive in the moment instead of thinking about what was or what is yet to come.
Why does gratitude seem so hard?
Being grateful can seem like a chore, one more thing we’re not doing well enough. Sometimes just thinking of something to be grateful for feels like a burden. ‘What if my list isn’t special enough?’ we may think.
The truth is, it can be challenging to practice gratitude. If it was easy, we wouldn’t need so many books and podcasts.
So what can make it easy?
The key to practicing gratitude (or anything else) is compassion — the act of saying, ‘I am just a human being, trying my best.’
Compassion protects us from disappointment, berating ourselves, feelings of inadequacy, self doubt. By practicing compassion we enable ourselves to stumble, even fall on our faces, without fear of what comes next. With compassion we know — what comes next is the sun rising and the beautiful, imperfect chance to try again.
