Gratitude
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"The struggle ends when gratitude begins."
~ Neale Donald Walsh
Gratitude means thanks and appreciation. Gratitude, which rhymes with "attitude," comes from the Latin word 'gratus," which means "thankful, pleasing." When you feel gratitude, you feel a deep appreciation for and are very pleased by what someone has said or done for you.
Whereas gratitude is a noun, giving thanks is a verb. The act of thanksgiving springs from a feeling of gratitude but it can also be an action one chooses to embark upon no matter how one may be feeling. One can be down in the dumps and yet make the choice to give thanks.
In positive psychology research, gratitude, and more importantly, thanksgiving, are strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness and fulfillment. Gratitude, coupled with the act of giving thanks, helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal better with adversity, and build strong relationships. Here, the words gratitude and thanksgiving are used interchangeably and are given the same meaning.
Research reveals gratitude can have these seven benefits:
- Gratitude opens the door to more relationships.
- Gratitude improves physical health.
- Gratitude improves psychological health.
- Gratitude enhances empathy and reduces aggression.
- Grateful people sleep better.
- Gratitude improves self-esteem.
- Gratitude increases mental strength.
We all have the ability and opportunity to cultivate gratitude. Simply take a few moments to focus on all that you have – rather than complain about all the things you don't have or think you deserve or want.
Here’s some food for thought:
"If you have food to eat, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of the world’s population!
If you have money in your wallet and can go anywhere you want, you are among 18% of the world’s wealthiest people!
If you are alive and healthy, you are more blessed than the millions who will not live past this coming week!
If you can actually read and understand this message, you are more fortunate than the 3 billion people in this world who cannot see, cannot read and suffer mental disabilities!"
Life is NOT about complaining! Rather, life is all about a thousand other reasons to be grateful and happy!
GRATITUDE PRACTICE
Be GRATEFUL
We've all heard the saying "practice makes perfect!" One activity this movement strongly encourages is the practice of daily GRATITUDE! So, train your GRATITUDE muscle with the following exercise!
Don’t ever let a day go by without thinking of at least 3 amazing things that happened to you today.
Give THANKS for those blessings!
At every
We've all heard the saying "practice makes perfect!" One activity this movement strongly encourages is the practice of daily GRATITUDE! So, train your GRATITUDE muscle with the following exercise!
Don’t ever let a day go by without thinking of at least 3 amazing things that happened to you today.
Give THANKS for those blessings!
At every moment of every day make it your aim to express your gratitude to life and to others for all things big or small...good and not-so-good! The good is a blessing and the not-so-good is an opportunity for a lesson and growth!
Kindness
WHAT WISDOM CAN YOU FIND THAT IS GREATER THAN KINDNESS?
~ Jean Jacques Rousseau
Kindness is all about being nice, friendly, generous, considerate, warm, concerned, gentle...or offering the best of yourself to someone else whether it be a second, a minute or longer. While kindness sometimes has a connotation of meaning someone is naive or weak, that is so not the case. Being kind often requires courage and strength.
Current scientific research shows that giving of self to others brings about lasting well-being. Researchers have found that stability in marriages depends on kindness. Many colleges, including Harvard, are now de-emphasizing standardized test scores while endorsing the idea of placing more emphasis on community involvement and acts of kindness when students apply for admission.
Here are six science-backed ways to improve your life through kindness:
~Kindness releases feel-good hormones.
~Kindness eases anxiety.
~Kindness is good for your heart.
~Kindness can help you live longer.
~Kindness reduces stress.
~Kindness prevents illness.
"Kindness is the honey that dulls the sting of unkindness when we receive it from another. A kind word can conquer anger, calm the spirit, and even start a friendship.
Christians should be kind. But kindness is not exclusively Christian. Rather it is as broad and old as humanity. The Greek playwright Sophocles alluded to the naturalness of kindness when he said, “Kindness gives birth to kindness.”
The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius understood the personal as well as the social benefits of kindness. “Ask thyself daily,” he wrote, “to how many ill-minded persons thou hast shown a kind disposition.”
Goethe viewed kindness as the “golden chain by which society is bound together.” The fact that the word kindness is derived from the Old English gecynde, meaning natural, is a good indication that kindness is a very natural virtue.
Shakespeare’s immortal and oft-quoted phrase, “the milk of human kindness” (Macbeth, act 1, scene 5), also attests to the naturalness of kindness, especially with regard to its manner of nourishment...Expressions of kindness may be simple and undramatic but the results can be decisive and most dramatic. Kindness, truly, can save lives."
~ from PraisePhilly 107.9 HD2 Minute Meditation
It costs absolutely NOTHING to spread the joy that springs from KINDNESS! Check out my blog on "What Does Kindness Look Like" and PRACTICE RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS EVERYDAY! It's good for your health, it’ll make you happier and it will make someone else's day brighter while making the universe a much better place!
KINDNESS PROMPT
Be KIND
Be intentional about greeting folks that you come across today. Say hello. Give them a smile. Wish them a good day. Don’t just pass people by without acknowledging them. Exude KINDNESS!!!
Meditation
20 Minutes a Day is All it Takes!
🤫
SILENCE
A MINDFULNESS PRACTICE
More Food for Thought on Meditation
More Food for Thought on Meditation
The popularity of Meditation is increasing as more people discover its benefits. As a key practice that fosters Mindfulness, Meditation is a habitual process of training your mind to focus and redirect your thoughts. It is an approach to training the mind, similar to the way that fitness is an approach to training the body. The practice e
The popularity of Meditation is increasing as more people discover its benefits. As a key practice that fosters Mindfulness, Meditation is a habitual process of training your mind to focus and redirect your thoughts. It is an approach to training the mind, similar to the way that fitness is an approach to training the body. The practice enables us to become friends with stillness and silence. The easiest way to begin meditating is by sitting still and focusing on the breath.
Here Are Some Science-Based Benefits of Meditation:
- Reduces Stress
- Lessens Anxiety
- Promotes Emotional and Physical Health
- Enhances Self-Awareness
- Generates Kindness
- Improves Sleep
- Facilitates Healthier Responses to Life’s Challenges
Although scientific studies reveal the many benefits of meditation, the true purpose of the practice is to be in the NOW. To put it as an Eastern philosopher may say, the goal of meditation is no goal. It’s simply to be present.
Meditation is something everyone can do to improve their mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health. You can do it anywhere, without special equipment or memberships. Meditation is a great way to improve your quality of life even if you only have a few minutes to do it each day. To achieve its benefits consistency is key!
In Christian circles, this practice is known as Centering Prayer. The goal of meditation in this context is to simply rest quietly and silently in God's loving presence. Although this changes things a bit in terms of the goal and purpose of the practice, the same principles and benefits apply.
P.S. Your mind WILL wander. You will have many thoughts. This is normal. Shutting down the mind is virtually impossible. And, this is OK! Don't fight yourself to clear your mind, just casually observe whatever thoughts come your way. When you catch your mind wandering, just GENTLY bring yourself back to your breath without any judgments. Don't give up. Know that the only bad Meditation is the one left undone!
More Food for Thought on Meditation
More Food for Thought on Meditation
More Food for Thought on Meditation
“Quiet the mind and the soul will speak.”
”Prayer is speaking to the Universe; Meditation is listening to her.”
”Meditation slows down your thoughts so you can rest in the space between them.”
”Meditation...because some questions cannot be answered by Google.”
”Breathe in the good shit! Breathe out the bullshit.”
”If you want to conquer the an
“Quiet the mind and the soul will speak.”
”Prayer is speaking to the Universe; Meditation is listening to her.”
”Meditation slows down your thoughts so you can rest in the space between them.”
”Meditation...because some questions cannot be answered by Google.”
”Breathe in the good shit! Breathe out the bullshit.”
”If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.”
”You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes a day, unless you are busy. Then you should sit for an hour.”
”Only in my deep meditation do I come to know who I truly am.”
”To earn the trust of your meditation, you have to visit it everyday. It’s like having a puppy.”
”The practice of meditation is one of the most effective means for developing clear and accurate thinking.”
”Meditation is power! Enter chaos from a place of inner stillness and your stillness becomes a chaos destroyer!”
"Silence is a source of great strength.”
" To sit and watch as life passes by is an art lost in time. Only available to the very young and the very old, this gift is what makes the
elderly and very young children wise. "
"In the West, it is said, "don't just sit there, do something." In the East, it is said, "don't just do something, sit there."
" Meditation is the art of listening to your soul. To breathe in good intentions and exhale the worries of the day. To sit in silence, is to attain peace."
This Is How We Do It
More Food for Thought on Meditation
This Is How We Do It
1. Sit comfortably with back straight. It is perfectly fine to sit in a chair where one's back is comfortably supported.
2. Choose a word / phrase or mantra or simply focus on your breathing. And set a timer for 20 minutes.
3. Sitting comfortably with eyes closed, settle and silently introduce your chosen word, mantra or simply notice your
1. Sit comfortably with back straight. It is perfectly fine to sit in a chair where one's back is comfortably supported.
2. Choose a word / phrase or mantra or simply focus on your breathing. And set a timer for 20 minutes.
3. Sitting comfortably with eyes closed, settle and silently introduce your chosen word, mantra or simply notice your breath.
4. When you notice yourself wandering in thought or when distracted by feelings, bodily sensations, images or reflections, ever so gently return to your word / phrase / mantra / or breath WITHOUT ANY JUDGMENTS.
5. At the end of your meditation, remain in silence for a few moments before opening your eyes and returning to your day's activity.
That’s it. Meditation is that simple!
It is ideal to strive for a 20-minute sitting each day, preferably, first thing in the morning but it can be done anytime throughout the day.
The ideal may be a bit too much for newbies to meditation. It is suggested that one start off slowly; perhaps 2, 3, 5 or 10 minutes a day and work up to 20 minutes over time.
Eventually, you want to commit to 20 minutes once a day ~ every day ~ in order to reap the full benefits of the practice.
*** The more advanced folks, strive for two 20-minute sessions a day. One in the morning and one in the later afternoon or early evening hours of the day. I know folks who engage in this practice for one hour or more a day. Again, this is for the more advanced.
Just aim for working up to a 20-minute sitting once a day over time. Your mind, body and spirit will thank you!
"let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me..."
The PHILLY4GOOD Movement
...was born to promote and celebrate this message of MINDFULNESS. There is great power in practicing intentional KINDNESS and GRATITUDE as well as MEDITATION / SILENCE daily. The benefits are amazing and the effects are even more so.
Well known environmentalist David Orr once wrote the following:
"...the plain fact is that the planet does not need more 'successful' people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers and lovers of every shape and form. It needs people who live well in their places. It needs people of moral
courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane. And these needs have little to do with success as our culture has defined it.”
It was Mother Theresa who once said, “we are not called to be successful, rather, we are called to be faithful.”
This movement challenges all of us to commit and be faithful to heeding the call to impact our little corner of the world in a positive way. It doesn’t take much! Just BE KIND, BE GRATEFUL and add daily MEDITATION / SILENCE to the mix! What greater "success" can there be than just this?
