Building Resilience
Waking up this morning, I glanced at my mobile and noticed the weather app ominously predicting a cold day ahead. Brrr! I could feel the chill of dark thoughts starting to gather. I could feel my body creak with cold (and aging).
Life’s challenges were seemingly everywhere. And yet…I was smiling and singing to the song that plays on my alarm. I was cheerful. I was grateful. What? Was I crazy?
I have been trying (not always successfully) to cultivate more resilience around the ups and downs of life, so I made a point of tuning my awareness toward the appreciation of life’s small delights. I was curious about what I would discover if I focused intentionally on the things that I appreciated. This morning, as I let wakefulness peel the dark back, I could smell my wife's coffee. The misty morning outside gently buffered the sounds of the world. I could sense our dogs moving around. I took a long moment to enjoy the muted winter light edging in through the window above the piano.
There was nothing particularly special going on, but I noticed that being #grateful for little things was already lifting my dark thoughts. A long and difficult day was still present, but awareness of my gratitude was shifting my view, letting me see that everything was not dark and cold—in fact, many sights and sounds were quite lovely.
RSS Feed