I’d actually planned to write about culinary cozies today. But gratitude is really important to me, especially as I’m still feeling warm and fuzzy from an Instagram gratitude challenge (more on that later), so here we are!
You may have heard about the importance of gratitude or even a “daily gratitude practice.” If you haven’t, the premise is this: every day, take a moment to think of three things you’re grateful for.
It doesn’t have to be three — it could be five, or ten, or just one. And they don’t have to be big things: something as simple as seeing the sunset that day or having a really good cup of tea or encountering the deer who live next door have often made my list. Some people say you should write down what you’re grateful for each day or journal about them, but to be honest, I don’t. Usually I just take a minute to reflect on things from my day that I’m grateful for each night, right before I fall asleep.
I started doing this years ago, when I didn’t have much faith in the world. At that time, I was thinking up ten or even twenty things to be grateful for each night, trying to convince myself that life wasn’t so bad. Now, I don’t advise that — gratitude’s not a good way to cover up a tough situation; nothing is. The real beauty of gratitude, I think, is that it engages you in the present moment and helps you open up to finding good things in the future.
That brings us to Instagram– or maybe I should say community. This month on my Instagram account, I’ve been participating in a gratitude challenge. (In Instagram challenges, the host sets a schedule of topics centered around a theme and each day, participants share posts on those topics.) Examples of daily topics include “share a book you love,” “share your favorite recipe,” and “point out someone else you think of as a hidden gem.” Well, yesterday’s topic was “people who have helped you, on or off Instagram.” Often I avoid these kinds of posts because I worry about hurting someone by leaving them out. But by focusing on the gratitude of it rather than the anxiety, I got it done, and would you believe it? The response has been heartwarming. Turns out, the people I admire and think of as friends on social media think the same of me, as well. 🙂
And that illustrates what I mean when I say that being grateful for current things leads to even more gratitude in the future, for new things you never expected. In a way, gratitude is like a chain email demanding to be sent to five friends. Sure, all the hype and the bother of it can get annoying. But it does come back to you, one way or another.
So, I hope you have a lovely holiday tomorrow. And I hope you enjoy a chance to be grateful.
Looking for More?
If you want to know more about gratitude and gratitude practices, check out articles like this one at Psychology Today, or podcasts like The Science of Happiness.
Oh, and if you want culinary cozy ideas after all, check out the Magical Bakery Mysteries by Bailey Cates or the Cupcake Bakery Mysteries by Jenn McKinlay! 🙂
