As we approach Thanksgiving Day in Canada, let us consider the inner strength of gratitude.

Article courtesy of: Wally Lazaruk

What is gratitude?

Gratitude is a feeling of thankfulness for what we have received. We are grateful for what is given to us, accepting that we are dependent on others in many ways. We are open to receiving gifts and we appreciate what we have been given.

Why is gratitude important?

The feeling of gratitude helps us to let go of the negatives in our lives and to embrace the positives. It lifts our mood, increases our satisfaction with life, and creates more optimism, happiness and self-worth. Gratitude also helps us to be more compassionate, generous and forgiving. It enhances our relationships and builds our resilience.

What can we be thankful for?

The big things for which we can be grateful include our health, our human body and human mind, our safety, our family, friends, pets, our community, our financial resources, our successes, our good decisions, our good actions and the fortunes of others. We can be grateful for the gift of life, the plants and animals we consume to keep living, the plants that give us air to breathe. If meaningful to us, we can appreciate the universal consciousness, the life force energy that lies beyond our thinking mind.  We can appreciate the people, for example our parents and teachers, who helped us in our journey through life. We can be grateful for what we have learned from our education and life experience.

The small things for which we can be thankful include a good meal, a sunny day, fresh water to drink, a genuine smile, an encouraging word, a talk with a friend, a walk in nature, watching a sunrise or sunset, a good sleep…

What are some activities to cultivate gratitude?

I hope you enjoy these activities:

1. Three Good Things

Set aside a specific time each day for gratitude: e.g. at a meal or just before bed.

1. Recall three things from your day for which you are grateful. Examples are the bounty of a meal, beauty of the night sky, warmth of the sun. For a breath or longer, pause and feel the thankfulness.
2. Write these three things down in a journal. Each time you journal, try to write down three different things for variation.

2. Recognize the contribution of others

• Bring to mind people in your life who have been helpful to you, who have loved you, taught you things, opened doors for you, been generous to you and made important contributions to you.
• For example, you could think of your parents, who gave you life, your family and friends who give your life meaning and purpose, your teachers who taught you, the people who grow your food, provide your goods and services and who are responsible for your having the life you have.
• Bring to mind some of what you have received from these people.
• Think of someone you really appreciate. What are some of the things that this person has given to you? Let these memories become feelings of thankfulness, and let those feelings sink in.
• As you are aware of these people and some of what they have given you, open to the beautiful feeling of gratitude for all of those people.
• Experience the appreciation that comes for being conscious of all you received and the realization that we are dependent on others and that we are strong in our togetherness.

3. Appreciate your good qualities

• Bring to mind three or four things that you appreciate about yourself.
• Probe to see what you really like about yourself.
• Give yourself the time and pace to feel whatever you are feeling and be as you are.
• Acknowledge these good qualities and focus on just one of them that resonate for you now.
• Hold this quality in awareness and determine if some people are associated with this good quality for you, people who have been a positive influence in your life.
• Feel good about key aspects of yourself.  Let this experience sink in and let self-appreciation take root in your heart.

4. Be happy for others

• Be happy for others. Name them.
• Be happy for their positive experiences, for their success.
• Be happy that things are going well for them, for the good conditions in their lives.
• Explore what it is like to have this happiness for them.
• Shift to other beings.
• Be happy that they are growing, getting better at …
• Become more and more aware of what it feels to be happy for them.
• Things are getting better for them. Be aware of improvements.
• Be happy that their external conditions are getting better.
• Be happy that they are still alive, that they are still conscious, breathing.
• Let this happiness for others sink in.

5. Gratitude Walk

• Take a gratitude walk in the neighbourhood in which you reflect on your gratitude for your relationships, material comforts, your physical surroundings, the air you breathe and everything you see, hear, feel, smell, and even taste.

Gratitude is a powerful force that we can use to expand our happiness, create loving relationships, and improve our health.

Prepared by:

– Wally Lazaruk, Ph.D., September 2022

Sources and References

Dr. Rick Hanson has provided permission to use/adapt his text and guided meditation material:

Rick Hanson, The Foundations of Well-Being

Resilient – Dr. Rick Hanson

HEAL: The Four Steps to Taking in the Good

What Is Gratitude? – Verywell Mind

Dalai Lama [Tenzin Gyatso] and Desmond Tutu. 2016. The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World. With Douglas Abrams. New York: Avery.