Jesse is a spirited, joyful, artistic soul with a broad smile and bold laugh.
I met her about sixteen years ago during a time in my life when I didn’t feel grateful. My heart ached because a loved one’s health and wellbeing were at risk. My mind chewed on worst case scenarios and “What if’s.”
Then I met Jesse. She tutored me on gratitude.
Jesse has had her fair share of difficulties. Maybe it’s because she has walked through fire that her intentional practices of gratitude challenged me then and inspire me today.
Until that first meeting, the boundaries of my gratitude were thank you notes and the verbal “Thank you” offered in response to an act of kindness or service.
“Yeah, I have a gratitude journal,” she told me. “Every night I write what I’m grateful for that day. Could be something that happened, or something someone said. Could just be something interesting that I saw.”
Benefits
There are many physical, emotional, and relational benefits to practicing gratitude, including—
- Reduced stress, lower heart rate and blood pressure
- Better sleep
- Improved outlook on life
- Ability to problem-solve
- Improved personal relationships
- Greater resiliency
Practicing gratitude is especially important in these days of division, anger, and polarization. Practicing gratitude is a covert leadership activity. It’s a compassionate guerrilla tactic.
A few gratitude practices
I don’t have a gratitude journal like Jesse, but I do cycle through a series of gratitude practices. They become especially important in times of overwhelm, sadness, or fear:
- An alphabet gratitude list. For every letter in the alphabet, I write the names of people, items, events for which I’m grateful. (e.g., A: apples, Ann, avocados, Alia; B: Brian, brother-in-law, best friends, bananas). By the time I get to G or H, my spirit breathes.
- Begin my morning pages (writing I do first thing in the morning) by naming people and things for which I’m grateful.
- Set an alarm on my phone to ring three or four times a day. At each ring, I take a gratitude break and step away from whatever else is going on to note two or three things in the immediate for which I’m grateful.
- A weekly mantra posted at my desk or in my planner. “In all things, give thanks,” appears frequently.
- A daily intention to look for opportunities to be grateful.
- End-of-day review, noting particular people or events, scenes or experiences of grace in the day.
Recently I learned that Jesse has a new gratitude practice. She composes a daily gratitude mini-list and that she texts to a few friends.
This reminds me, I need to write a thank you note to Jesse and tell her how grateful I am for what she’s taught me about gratitude.