Mindfulness Yields Gratitude

Every breath is a gift. Be intentional with how you use it. So often we take the autonomic functions of life, the body’s systems, the plants and trees that produce the compounds of oxygen we need to breathe, the sun that provides the vitamins and minerals we need to sustain us for granted. Can you imagine waking up and the sun not shining? The trees

deciding to no longer produce oxygen or nitrogen? The plants deciding not to absorb the carbon dioxide that we breathe out so that the air is even less filtered than it already is? What if the Earth decided to stop rotating? If the world as we know it now ceased to exist? We had a small scare about the normal function of our world when the pandemic hit in 2019 and carried well into 2020. A lot of us lost our loved ones, some of us lost our minds, a few of us lost our will to live. Life seemed pointless because we felt purposeless, stuck, trapped. How dare we get the world back to semi-functional life and fall back into the same patterns of mundanity.

I cannot and will not speak for anyone but myself, but I refuse not to thank God for every day. To use every breath He allows me to breathe as an opportunity to give Him the glory He deserves. I will be intentional to thank Him when my feet touch the floor in the morning, and I have use of my legs. I will choose to worship when I press the engine button to start my car and the alternator turns over. I will choose to be grateful for the sunrise as my sleepy eyes drive down the highway on my way to every coffee shop to run the business I am blessed to have. I will pray over my home and the things inside of it when I leave it in the morning and return to it later in the day in relatively the same condition I left in—minus a gnat or two here-or-there because it’s summertime. And as much as I despise insects, I will not complain about having to set apple cider vinegar traps around the apartment to catch the influx of them that feel entitled to roaming free in my home. As air fills my lungs, I will ask myself how I feel, and be honest about the answer. I will prepare for the day with joy and finish it with gratitude, even when things are left undone.

I will love the life I’ve been blessed to live. I will love the me I am blessed to be because I didn’t always have that luxury. I didn’t always love myself or my life. I didn’t always have friends I could make plans with and find them lovingly waiting for my arrival when I’m late…again. I didn’t have the luxury of looking in the mirror and smiling because I loved what I see. I worked hard to get here. To get to this space where every little thing means so very much to me. Where the beautiful moth that landed on my door as I left in the morning had my favorite color spots on its wings. My favorite color is green by the way. I used to say it was black, and it kind of still is in a way. Black is my favorite color to wear. Anything neutral really. But green is it for me, in any shade. A representation of my growth, my royalty, my vibrance, my richness, my luxury, my very nature and the earth-like essence it exudes. I will embrace myself in every stage, feel every emotion, love every moment for the sake of simply having it. And I will be intentionally grateful for the inhale and the exhale of this beautiful life. I invite, no, I encourage you to do the same.

Tips to practice mindfulness

1. Breathwork- pause to enjoy the fact that you are able to breathe. Get in touch with what you are feeling in the moment and how it is affecting your body, your stress levels, your productivity.

2. Keep a journal- keeping a journal allows for self-reflection and progressively increases self-awareness and ultimately your Emotional Intelligence (EI) as a whole. Journal your thoughts, your prayers, your emotions, the things you love about yourself, your accomplishments, or things you hope to accomplish. Writing things down gives you the ability to free up space in your mind from all of the things you're holding onto.

3. Check-ins- take a moment for a few deep breaths, place your hand against your heart, and be inquisitive about your current thoughts and feelings without judgment or planning. Recognize your current state and just be there. Take action later. It only takes a moment 30 seconds to a minute is normally good enough.

4. Enjoy Nature- being in the presence of nature, away from the pressure and hustle of life does wonders for the body, soul, and spirit. Notice the wind in the trees, the differences in the patterns of the leaves, the colors of the rocks. Whatever your eyes find to focus on that makes your soul smile.

5. Live in the moment- look for the enjoyable moments in the present. The smells of the coffee shop as you pass by or a local restaurant. Be grateful that the car that cut you off and almost took your front bumper with him, didn't. Enjoy that moment the kids are playing nicely with each other before the next quarrel ensues. Be intentional to notice the positive things in life.

   
   

   For assistance on the practice of mindfulness or cultivating emotional intelligence book a free consultation with a Dear Self coach at www.dearselfwellness.com.