"Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out." Thich Nhat Hanh
Last year, while I was going through a very dark period in my life I discovered the practice of daily gratitude. I came across an article in a magazine that I picked up at my local health food store in Toronto where a woman described her daily practice of gratitude writing, which consisted of writing down five things that you are grateful for each day, either at the beginning or at the end of your day. Those five things that you write down can be very small and insignificant to others, but they are meaningful to you.
During my darkness and my misery and gloom, I tried to muster up the energy from deep within me to start my own gratitude practice. When I look back to what I wrote last year in my gratitude journal, I realize that I was mostly grateful for breathing....yes, the simple and basic breath that sustains me on a second by second basis. For you see, I couldn't find other things to be grateful for during my darkness, but breathing...now there is something to be grateful for. A year later, my gratitude journal looks different...but I'm grateful for experiencing darkness for it reminded me of the simple act of breathing and for being grounded in it.
I have learned that from starting this practice, gratitude has extended beyond the pages of my journal and I find myself being grateful and expressing gratitude towards those around me. I have realized that, the gratitude practice, that started in darkness has manifested itself into the light....into my daily existence. For this I'm grateful for.
Take a moment right now and breathe....inhale slowly.....exhale slowly....you are alive, you are beautiful, you are powerful, you are whole. Inhale again....and remember this, you are love personified.....exhale and remember this, you are a blessing to those around you, and for this reality be grateful.
