Celebrating - and Being Grateful

Can being grateful help you and give your resilience?  Yes!

According to research, being grateful can help you out of depression and can make you more resilient, but did you know that finding awe in life can do similar things?  So, be grateful, find things that are awesome, and celebrate lif, in generale.  After all, it’s the month of Thanksgiving.

Gratefulness is one of the superpowers we can practice to move ourselves forward, even in tough times.  So, think of five things (like actual stuff you have) that you are grateful for.  Then think of four activities/things on the calendar that make you grateful (they can be repetitive, or not), after that think of three relationships you are grateful for.  When you have thought of all that, think of two small things that warm your heart that are not things, but that are really cool.  Finally, when you are there, think of the one over-reaching thing, person, activity, or whatever that you are most grateful for and give thanks for all the above.

Then, find something that puts you in a place of awe, whether it’s a snowflake, a view from a mountaintop or seashore, or watching a newborn baby, thinking about the human body in its intricacies, looking at a tree… whatever really inspires you and brings you into a state of awe.  Think about it for a while. Enjoy the awe.

“awe may help stop us from ruminating on our problems and daily stressors. Instead, awe seems to pull us out of ourselves and make us feel immersed in our surroundings and the larger world (which may help explain its tendency to inspire generosity and a sense of connection with others).” https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_awe_looks_like_in_the_brain?utm_source=Greater+Good+Science+Center&utm_campaign=6ce0914dae-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_GG_Newsletter_Oct_22_2019&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5ae73e326e-6ce0914dae-74143847

Then Celebrate! 

Celebration is a key to balancing stress and becoming more resilient.  So celebrate the above things and then celebrate all that others are celebrating, too.

Here are my own 5-4-3-2-1 and my AWEsome thing for this week:

5 things: my house, my bed, my books (all of them), my favorite jeans and boots (it’s now getting cold), and my really wonderful coffee maker.

4 activities: Career Night at school next week (I love the buzz and helping out), Sunday evening services, Thanksgiving Dinner, and our annual Jehle Christmas Brunch

Three relationships (ONLY THREE?!?): My husband, my children, and my dog, Laila (but there are MORE, of course!).

What warms my heart right now: pumpkin soup and afternoon coffee.

Finally, what is overall and over-reaching?  My faith: so I am thankful for my relationship with the triune Creator God.

What gives me awe?  At the moment, it is the beauty of the fall in my neighborhood - leaves changing, fog, rainbows, and snails..  It is amazing here, truly.

How will I celebrate- right now by finishing that coffee, and later this month with friends at a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner.

How will you celebrate?  What are you thankful for?  What gives you awe?

Patricia Jehle               patricia@jehle-coaching.com