How to Spring Ahead with Gratitude
“Spring has arrived, and with it comes hope and warmth. Deep within the cold earth, seeds are beginning to sprout. In the damp fields, the livestock are preparing to give birth. In the forest, under a canopy of newly sprouted leaves, the animals of the wild ready their dens for the arrival of their young. Spring is here.” -learnreligions.com
So how will you prepare for spring? Personally, I’ve been in hibernation mode for a bit. I have been going inward, digging deeper in order to really get connected with my heart. Most of us live from the neck up, always overthinking and over-analyzing life, always striving for more. We often seek quantity over quality.
“What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
I recently heard a story that went something like this - A man went to see a master. He went on and on to the master about all that he knew. The master said let’s have tea, and as he started to pour, he let the cup overflow and spill all over. When the man asked why the master was doing this, he replied, “You are like this cup, overflowing. You are too full; there is no room for anything else.” Are we like this man? Always searching, filling ourselves and our lives with so much that, even in the company of greatness, we are not truly present to that which is around us? Perhaps we are missing all the good. Maybe we are letting miracles pass us by every day without even noticing.
“Gratitude for the present moment and the fullness of life now is the true prosperity.”
Let us celebrate spring, this time of renewal and rebirth, by opening ourselves to living in the present. When we open our hearts and learn to allow gratitude in, something changes. A shift takes place. When we make practicing gratitude a regular part of our lives, over time we begin to embody it. As we do so, we eventually find a place of joy. This is the ultimate currency of gratitude.
“Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind.”
To better get out of our heads and into our hearts/bodies, we can use the 5-4-3-2-1 Method, which incorporates all five of our senses to bring us into the present. You start by naming 5 things you can see. You then focus on 4 things you can touch and tell yourself out loud what they feel like. Next, you notice 3 things that you hear and repeat them out loud. You then notice 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste.
What I love about this exercise is that it's an effective mindfulness tool to bring you right back to the present moment. It allows us to slow down, take in our surroundings, and realize that there’s so much to be grateful for right in front of us.
What a great way to spring ahead, by starting a new gratitude practice… which is really the practice of being alive and present!
“Our true home is in the present moment.”
To live in the present moment truly is a miracle. The miracle is not to walk on water; the miracle is to walk on the green Earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now. Peace is all around us in the world, in nature, and within us. It is in our bodies and our spirits. Once we learn to touch this peace, we will be healed and transformed. It is not a matter of faith, it is a matter of practice.
“The root of joy is gratefulness...It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.”