Today was busy, busy, busy. I mean, honestly every day is (for everyone, not just me), but today did get the better of me. After getting a mountain of groceries (two carts!) it took over an hour to reorganize the freezer, fridge, and cabinets and put the food and supplies away. Adding this to a surprise dental appointment, cleaning the big mess under the highchair, the fact that my daughter skipped her afternoon nap (no lunch 'break' for me!), and much less sleep than I had hoped and I was pretty much done.
As I was putting away the last of the groceries I noticed some negative, critical thoughts creeping in. My old pals annoyance, frustration, and discontent were on their way to join me for my pity party. But I stopped them before they even got through the door. I realized there was nothing wrong with the situation, I was just really tired and needed a break.
Soon after that I was able to cuddle with my daughter as she fell asleep, and later spend some quality time with my husband. As we sat and spoke quietly together, I felt the gratitude returning. Its presence was warm and peaceful, and it was comforting that it was still there, unaffected by the negative emotions from earlier in the day.
I have discovered that in order to truly feel gratitude you need to nurture it, which also means to take care of yourself. I guess that is why so many refer to this process as 'cultivating' a gratitude 'practice', and I am grateful that I am now beginning to understand the true meaning of those words.
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This post is part of the daily gratitude practice I am hoping to develop during 2018. You can read all about it here.
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May all beings be happy!
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