"Gratitude is medicine for the soul,"
When life deals us bad news or unfortunate circumstances, it can put us in a funk full of negative emotions that stirs deep within us. It can start affecting other areas of our life if we allow it to engulf us in a way where we cannot seem to shake our funk. We may end up carrying that bad mood around with us and creating a bigger mess than necessary if we are unable to prevent our bad mood from clouding our judgment. Although it may sound counterintuitive, it's during hard times where turning to gratitude can make all the difference in chasing the blues away or inviting them to stay.
I think back to recent events where I could have allowed my circumstances to get the best of me and leave me feeling upset, or worse. I had COVID-19 a few months ago. I found out by losing my sense of smell. It still has not fully returned. The interesting part is I had no cold or flu like symptoms. Instead of dwelling on not having the ability to smell, I was grateful for having a healthy immune system where I was able to fight off the virus, for the most part. I'm also grateful that I gained half my sense of smell back, instead of being freaked out or bummed about not having it back at 100%. It's my "glass is half full" approach.
Photo by Frank McKenna on Unsplash
I often find myself looking for those silver linings when life hands me a bag of lemons. Doing my best to make lemonade instead of getting all sour about the situation has helped me to live more on the bright side of life. Gratitude has its own huge fountain over on the bright side. It's what helps me to remember how I still have my health, my solid relationships and the right mindset to help me weather the storms. I have already spent enough of my life in Negativity Town, where I allowed constant worry, anger and bitterness ruin my day. I have been learning to let go and be grateful for the experiences that help me learn and grow.
We have the ability to reframe our negative experiences with a bigger picture approach that can help us better appreciate the ups and downs on the rollercoaster ride of life. We can even learn to find the good even when the bad feels like it is consuming so much of our time and following us around. This is where gratitude can step in and help us manage life and live it with more joy. Instead of drowning in sorrow, we can find ways to be grateful for the experience and stay afloat. It's a matter of self-awareness and picking our perspective. We get to choose our mood. I prefer to pick good ones. For that, I am grateful.
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