The Magic of Gratitude

'Enough' is a feast.
Buddhist proverb
Sometimes 'enough' is incredibly hard to experience

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Once in a while this phrase pops into my head " All we need to live each day would fit into a bucket". Of course we need shelter and community, too, but I get the main message . This phrase floats into my headspace most when I read about insane over-consumption by the Sultans and the Trumps of the world and unfair algorithms that allow Jeff Bezos to hoard so much cash. Why do they need so much? I imagine what I'd put into my bucket: a toothbrush, salt, a large jar of water, soap, a days worth of food, and of course, red lipstick. And hopefully I'd have a friend to help carry it! ( I once read that a doctor in Turkey was able to use salt and clean water to treat 90% of the illnesses he encountered.)
I often have weird minimalist fantasies.
I do actually have moments of being really happy about my life as it is at this moment...and then like some background drone that never goes away, my nagging western, materialist voice just slips back in. The next thing you know I am feeling guilty, less than, unsatisfied, entitled. But the truth is, for this day, I am fine.
When I remember to do morning and evening meditations on what I am blessed with, I feel less angry and more connected.
Louise Haye was my first teacher on gratitude. She said, 'Even if life is hard, when you wake up in the morning, thank your bed and your pillow'. I have done this many, many times. It is strange, but if you can click your brain over to seeing the world this way, it can change your mood and outlook. If shit sucks, thank your warm shower and your yummy coffee, thank the dude who tells you your backpack is open. If you have ever been sick before, thank your body for healing up, or just carrying you around and doing its job most of the time.
I am not saying don't strive for what you truly value, but it seems like most people are dissatisfied most of the time. And that dissatisfaction comes from wanting what they don't have. I work with single people with awesome lives, who are miserable because they don't have a partner. And then I work with a very happily married couple who are miserable because they are having trouble conceiving. I a m not discounting their pain, but gratitude can help alleviate it.  Chances are, when you fast forward a couple years , the single person will be married and the couple will have a kid, but now they are longing for something else. The truth is, everything gets ordinary eventually...unless you can see and feel your daily blessings.
Life is always going to have challenges, but seeing what you DO have is the first step to creating space. Space to see options, space to choose to not focus unconsciously on what you don't have but think you want. Space to be present and breath.
A gratitude practice is a great way to do this. Here is a  daily affirmation by Louise Haye:

Deep at the center of my being there is an infinite well of gratitude. I now allow this gratitude to fill my heart, my body, my mind, my consciousness, my very being. This gratitude radiates out from me in all directions, touching everything in my world, and returns to me as more to be grateful for. The more gratitude I feel, the more I am aware that the supply is endless.


*If you can't feel grateful for what you have, no matter how you try, then you are probably very unhappy on the  life path you choose (or just landed in by following the path of least resistance). Just remember, everyday is the new day. I, literally, have clients who have woken up one day as if from a bad dream and changed their lives for the better. You can too. Start with gratitude.

Thanks for reading this and I hope it gave you food for thought!
xo  Xtina