A Guided Practice ~ 002

One Day of Gratitude at a Time

So often, we move through our days noticing everything that is not going right.

We think about what needs to be done, what feels uncertain, what someone said that upset us, or what we wish were different. Without realizing it, we can spend much of our time speaking and thinking about the things that make us feel worse.

For more than a year, I have been practicing something different.

I don’t do it every morning, and I don’t follow a particular formula. I don’t decide ahead of time how many things I will name. I simply begin, and I continue until it feels complete.

This morning, before I opened my eyes, I took several deep breaths—in through my nose and out through my mouth. I felt the tension in my body begin to release.

The first thing I said was:

I am so grateful for my children. I am grateful for all the joy they bring into my life. They are beautiful, smart, amazing people, and I am so excited to see where their lives take them. I love them so much.

Then I took a few more slow breaths and allowed myself to live in that gratitude. I let thoughts about my children move through my mind—small moments, pieces of who they are, and all the reasons I feel so fortunate to be their mother.

After a few breaths to quiet my thoughts again, I said:

I am so grateful for my husband. He is loving, kind, and thoughtful. He does so much more for others than he does for himself. He brings happiness, joy, and laughter into my life, and I love him so very much.

Again, I breathed and allowed the feeling to stay. I thought about the things he does, the person he is, and the life we have shared.

The third thing that came to me was change.

My husband and I are both going through changes in our work situations. I could easily focus on the uncertainty and all the things we cannot yet know. Instead, I chose to be grateful for where these changes may be leading us. And, I said:

I am so grateful for the changes happening in our work lives. I can see good things coming from them. My husband may have the opportunity to spend less time in an office and more time outdoors doing the physical work he enjoys. I will have Fridays off and will be working from home for part of my day. I believe these changes can relieve stress and bring more happiness and family time into our lives.

I took a few more breaths and allowed myself to imagine what those changes might feel like.

Then, instead of clearing my thoughts again, I brought all three things together. I thought about my children, my husband, and the changes ahead of us. I intentionally smiled as I breathed in and out. For one quiet minute, I simply allowed myself to feel grateful for my family and excited about where our lives may be going.

Then I opened my eyes.

Speaking my gratitude aloud is important to me. Others may prefer to say these things silently, and that is okay. But when I hear myself speaking them, something shifts. I believe our words carry energy and create a vibration. When I speak my gratitude aloud, I feel that positive vibration within me, and I imagine it moving beyond me and out into the world.

The practice raises my vibration, redirects my attention, and changes my emotional state. I feel lighter. Happier. More aware of what is beautiful, meaningful, and going right in my life.

It does not mean uncertainty disappears or that difficult things are no longer difficult. It means they are not the only things I allow myself to see.

When I first began doing this more than a year ago, there were days when it was genuinely difficult to think of something to be grateful for. On those days, I began with whatever I could find.

The warmth of the sun.

The breath moving through my body.

The steady beating of my heart.

The fact that I had avoided the cold everyone else seemed to be catching.

Even on a difficult day, there is often something—however small—that we can begin with.

Now, after returning to this practice again and again, I often have the opposite problem. So many things come to me that I do not have enough time to say them all.

That is the kind of problem I am grateful to have.

And gratitude does not have to be saved for the morning. When something changes the course of my day—an upsetting conversation, an unexpected problem, or even someone cutting me off in traffic—I can pause. I can take a few slow breaths and find one true thing for which I am grateful. If I remain with that feeling for even a minute or two, it can shift my energy, soften my reaction, and change my perspective.

Perhaps today, instead of allowing everything uncertain, unfinished, or difficult to take up all the space, you can begin with one thing that is already beautiful.

Speak it if you can.

Breathe it in.

Let yourself truly feel it.

And tomorrow, you can begin again—one day of gratitude at a time.

Return to this practice whenever you need a gentle place to begin again.

🌿WGG