Gratitude for Wellbeing

Hello! And welcome once again! As always THANK YOU for reading and following along!

On my last blog post, September Rainbows, I highlighted a sense of gratitude surrounding my annual celebration of birth. So what does it mean to practice a state of gratitude? How do I specifically practice gratitude? Can practicing a state of gratitude influence your overall wellbeing? Can you utilize gratitude as a positive force of nature to shift unwanted energy? Has life and its lemons, wrong turns, and bumps increased my

overall sense of gratitude? Most importantly what are some simple techniques to start incorporating gratitude into your daily life? Lets dig in and and find out more!

As fall approaches, we quickly start to see bursts of orange, browns, and deep yellows everywhere symbolizing a season of change. However, if you live in Texas like I do, the temperatures don't exactly reflect a true fall season, but we Texans sure do try to make it feel like fall. Most of us have had fall décor in our homes since September in a wishful attempt to call in the cooler temperatures. Wishful as it may be, we love our Texas, even if the continued warmer temperatures, the humidity, and mosquitos don't quite give us that cool brisk fall feeling we long long. Our longer summers, sometime well into November, just offers an extended opportunity for things to still grow and blossom. Hence my extreme gratitude when I noticed our bougainvillea in the backyard shooting up and blossoming this month! Thank you Texas weather! A reminder of life blossoming and growing even in the most harsh conditions. Things are always happening underneath the surface, even if you don't realize it! Growth, change, evolution.

Embracing a sense of gratitude, reminds me of how this very simple act has benefitted my overall life, my decision making, and overall well being. I love the word ATTITUDE in gratitude for surly the significance is a form of reminder and symbolism for how living in a state of gratitude extends deeper to the root of our persona. So what does it mean to practice a state of gratitude? For most, we are thankful. Thankful for everything, right? Our lives, our health, our families, our homes, food to eat, our jobs, the opportunity to live another day in a country that offers the freedom to live however we choose. There is a lot to be thankful for and reflecting on gratitude means I am definitely counting my blessings everyday.

Thankful for the big, the simple and the small. And yes, even thankful for the unfortunate bumps, the wrong turns, and misfortunes for it is in the darkest of times where I have been able to experience growth and deeper understanding. Practicing gratitude in the richness of life and the lowest of times because after 47 years, I have learned that muddy waters do clear, and things always change. Sitting with GRACE and GRATITUDE during the good, the bad and the not so pretty while strongly standing my ground has always served as an anchor of HOPE in my life.

Practicing gratitude has most definitely given me an overall sense wellbeing. Can we truly see the light at the end of the tunnel? Can we truly be grateful for all we have? Can we just say thank you for all the small things and or perhaps just finding something to say thank you to, even when the tough is tough? Breathing in gratitude and exhaling all that does not serve you to include fear, or doubt. A phrase I enjoy using while teaching my Yoga class. Thank you life, thank you God, thank you mom and dad for giving me life, thank you to the sea of Earth Angels that have loved and nurtured my spirit. Closing my eyes and just saying thank you as a form of positive affirmation to calm a bouncy nervous system offers me a sense of peace & mental clarity. Practicing gratitude during prayer, meditation, and quiet times of reflection most definitely boost my overall sense of wellbeing.

Another way to practice gratitude is writing it down. I love a gratitude journal. A journal to release your own personal thoughts of gratitude. There is a form of therapeutic release in writing in a personal journal dedicated for you, by you, to serve only you. Writing outside, in a park, near a body of water, under the night sky with stars above and journaling with a candle near by. Journaling thoughts of gratitude while traveling, literally writing anywhere your heart desires. Owning a gratitude journal has been a part of my daily practice. A tip I highly recommend! Another small practice for implementing gratitude is by simply making a checklist. Top three things you are grateful for today. See if your list can grow overtime by writing it down or making a mental check list of all that you are grateful for. If you can start to practice it, you can start to live it and after time you may find yourself not only tapping into gratitude daily but also learning how to incorporate gratitude to shift negative, unwanted energy. Instead of of poor me, this sucks, perhaps we can shift to this sucks but at least I'm grateful for...… YOU PLUG IN all that you are GRATEFUL for! Perhaps shifting and utilizing gratitude as a form of coping during times of suffering or stress. Because Lord know we need coping skills after the past 19 months of this pandemic we have been living through!

When I look back at my life, I am most definitely grateful for the people in my life. The people of my past, my present and my future. Yes, I'm even thankful for the people that have yet to show up in my life. Call it wishful thinking or manifestation. But I do hope to continue to meet people that will teach me and help me to grow personally and spiritually. Saying THANK YOU, and not just after you sneeze in response to the "bless you" but saying thank you all the time. I'm always making sure to recognize people in my life with a Thank you in the form of words or actions. There have been a lot of people in my life that have offered and given me so much. Some of those people are still actively in my life, some are not. some I miss very dearly like my mother and my favorite Aunt Hilda who are now resting in Heaven. I am grateful for them all for helping me be the woman I am today. My extension of gratitude to honor them is by living my best life today, living as the best version of myself, and by paying it forward to those in need; my friends, family, and my community.

Please read Below for more simple techniques to enhance gratitude and as always,

THANK YOU! If you enjoyed reading and or gained some insight into the act of gratitude, please leave a comment below!

Love and Grace Always,

Erica Jane

Top Ten Simple Tips to Enhance Gratitude

1. Say Thank you

2. Start a Gratitude journal

3. Meditate thoughts of Gratitude affirmations

4. Start a gratitude checklist- Count your Blessings

5. Send a gratitude text message to a friend or family member

6. Mail a card to a friend or family member to say Thank you

7. Visit a friend or family member

8. Pay it Forward, buy someone a cup of coffee

9. Make a list of loving acts you will do for yourself today

10. Connect with that special someone who positively changed your life

And don't forget to Live your Best Life Today!