Gratefulness comes in many forms. For me, one of my favorite ways to express gratefulness is to become mindful of a person, place, or thing. I recently learned more about this through a mindfulness class, as well as through Headspace meditations. While I started using gratitude and mindfulness as a way to help me sleep, using this method throughout the day has its benefits in helping me recenter myself in my environment and circumstances, and accept each moment as it is.
It really is not difficult to do; all it really requires is a sense of light curiosity. For example, when I allow myself to become curious about my environment, I let myself take the time to appreciate it through acknowledgement. Through this, I can remember that I do not exist in an abstract world of papers and deadlines; instead, I am sitting at my desk, feeling the bumps of the keyboard and hearing the crisp “clicks” as my fingers move across them. I can feel the reassuring cool of my desk through my ribbed long sleeve; in fact, the room has just the right chill to it, enough to keep me lightly aware of the present. When I hear a car outside, the humming reminds me of my neighbors. I wonder what they are doing at this time. Outside, the rolling darkness meets my lamp, making dark doubles of everything with the shadows. My chair swivels slightly as I adjust, supporting my body as I become more comfortable, shifting again toward my keyboard.
With each sensation I notice, a certain fondness grows from it, until I come to the realization that I have every little thing around me to be grateful for.