Gratitude for the small things in life
"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were big things." - Robert Brault, American author
A quick story …
A couple of years back, I experienced the most severe stomach ache I can remember. I suspect it was because of a mild food poisoning after I indulged in some outside food. The pain completely disabled me, and I was lying on bed for whole night in total agony.
In that moment, there was nothing I wanted more than just to be normal again. I didn’t give a damn to my materialistic ambitions.
In that pain, I realized what a blessing every day was when my stomach was working just fine.
When I reflect back on that pain, I can’t help but think that we are surrounded by so many blessings all around all the time. It’s just that somehow our brains choose to totally ignore them.
The blessings of small things
Think about the dozens of things that are working just fine in your life right now.
Sure, you may not have that perfect job now. You may not have the right partner. Or you may not have the financial independence that you are craving so much. All of those things will come to you in time. Deep in your heart you know it.
Yet, our minds convince us that it’s okay to be miserable, frustrated, and anxious, until we have what’s missing.
We ignore the hundreds of gifts that make up our lives.
The air we breathe, the food our body digests, the rest we get in sleep, the colleagues that treat us well, the shelter over our head - it’s an endless list.
If even single one of those things goes missing, we will take notice. We will feel pain. It might even halt our lives.
Because the truth is that these seemingly small things are not small after all. Only our minds have stopped paying attention to them.
When we don’t pay attention to gifts of life, we become ungrateful. When we become ungrateful, the abundance stops flowing in our life.
Invite more abundance through gratitude
When we are grateful for what we have, we create an opening for even more blessings to flow in our life.
Because life gives more to those who are grateful for its gifts. And you have way more than what you need to thrive in this world.
So let’s start by expressing gratitude for what you have today, in this moment, right now. It doesn’t have to be big stuff. Start by being thankful for small things in your life.
Look around yourself. What is a seemingly small thing that you usually don’t pay enough attention to? What value does it add in your life? Is your life going to be different if this thing disappears tomorrow?
Just close your eyes for a moment and say a silent thanks to universe for bringing it to you.
As you do it for one small thing, you will realize that there is something else that you are thankful for. Do it a few times and soon enough you will feel that you already have a lot.
Life has given you gifts that you did not even ask. You will appreciate that you have 80-90% of all things needed to live a good life. The few things that are missing are also on their way. They will arrive soon enough.
The more grateful you are for small things, the more abundant you will feel. And the more abundant you feel, more will come to you.
That’s how we invite magic into our lives and totally transform it.
Example of small things to be grateful for
You can feel grateful for the smallest of things. Here are a few examples of what it looks like in practice:
“I am grateful at this moment for the view outside from my window. It looks so pretty and peaceful”
“I am grateful for the delicious breakfast I had today. It was filling and nutritious too”
“I am grateful for the fresh air I get to breathe everyday”
“I am grateful for the comfortable sleep I got last night that prepared me to to take on the day”
“I am grateful for this tree outside my house. It is not just a source of fresh air, but it also makes the place so much more beautiful”
Build the gratitude habit: Exercise for the week
List down 3 small things you are grateful for in life at this moment. Write it out on a piece of paper or on a note taking app of your choice.
Start a gratitude journal if you don’t have one already. It can be a physical notebook or an online note taking app. Anything that you can easily access works. Just keep it simple!
Take out just 5 minutes to repeat this exercise by logging it in your gratitude journal.
That’s it! Start a gratitude journal and keep logging small things you are grateful for. See how this tiny little action will snowball into something huge and magically transform your whole life!
Being consistently grateful is the single most powerful habit you can build. Share this post with your friends, family, or anyone who can benefit from it.