Little things and Great Big Thanks - gratitude practice and how it can change your perspective.

Have you heard that Gratitude practice can help with mental health and moving to a more positive outlook? Its easy to hear all these things and yet to ignore them and leave them for someone else to enjoy. We know so much stuff about improving our well being but really do we ever actually do it? And do we want to? Life is busy enough as it is, right?

This week I started sharing each day a photo of a letter and a nudge to find out what people are grateful for.

What matters to you so much you want to celebrate it?

When asking that question it does make us think a little more doesn’t it, what would I not want to be without? What do I really love having in my life?

At different times in our lives this is easier to practice than at other times but the more we do it the more we will enjoy it and get better at it.

As with many things this has been going on, I have been doing other things - sharing about a new Bible study kit I’ve made and doing some videos about that too. I realised they are linked in such a beautiful way. The kit looks at Rahab and Samson two very different people who both had a big impact on the story of the Israelites but in very different ways.Why? Because they used their opportunities for very different ends. Samson looked out for himself and what he had, he thanked no-one and was what I imagine to be one of these very entitled people that many avoid. Admittedly he must have been quite a character I think people would have looked at him in fascination and fear rather than appreciation and admiration.

Rahab on the other hand, a prostitute in the land the Israelites were about to take over, used her position to allow her to find out more about this invading army. She took the opportunity to find out more and then chose her side.She was grateful to those who listened to her and answered her questions and protected her and her family.

These two people can be anyone, we can take what we have and snatch it close and run with it as far and as hard as possible- like a rugby player stretching for a touchdown. He charges and plans to get to that line no matter whats in the way.

Or we can use what we have, celebrate it but work as a team, work with each other, help those around us to achieve as well as us. We don’t have to sacrifice everything all of the time but working with others and building people up leads to a team celebration and victories which are made because of something bigger than us rather than one person.

Gratitude is this, it’s celebrating what we have - in that sense of appreciation and thanks we pass on goodness to others. We realise life is not about one individual getting ahead but building up a strong foundation on what really matters.

So let me ask you

what are you grateful today?

how will you use this to move forward? 

How to practice gratitude?

I have made a ‘little tin of Big Gratitude’ its a tin filled with gratitude tokens with the alphabet on. Work your way through the alphabet to find something for each letter. 

Write a letter of thanks to someone once a week.

try to genuinely say thank you to people 100 times a day. 

I would love to know how you get on.