Gratitude Practice: Savor the Moment

Give thanks for the little joys in life and savor the moment as you pass through the senses.

One morning in early October, I glanced at my cell phone and saw that the weather app had predicted a long day of snow and icy temperatures. Burr! I can begin to collect the chill of dark thoughts. I can feel my body getting colder and older.

Life’s challenges were seemingly everywhere. And yet… I was smiling. I was happy. I was grateful. what was i crazy

I made a general goal of building more resilience around life’s ups and downs, so I made it a point of my awareness to appreciate life’s little joys. I was interested in what I would discover if I deliberately focused on the things I admired. That morning, when I woke up and peeled off the darkness, I could smell my neighbor’s coffee brewing. The snow outside gently buffered the sounds of the world. I can feel my husband’s warm weight in the bed. I took a long time to savor the moment, enjoying the muted winter light around the slats of the window blinds.

Nothing particularly special was going on, but I noticed that being grateful for the little things was already lifting my dark thoughts.

Nothing particularly special was going on, but I noticed that being grateful for the little things was already lifting my dark thoughts. The difficulties were still there, but the awareness of my gratitude was changing my perspective, allowing me to see that not everything was dark and cold. In fact, many of the sights and sounds were beautiful.

Would you like to join me in a gratitude practice to help you savor the moment in front of you?

Gratitude Practice: Savor the moment by tapping into your senses

1. Use the breath to anchor yourself in the present moment. Our minds are always easily drawn to busyness. Pay special attention to the breath, or feeling something in the body, as you bring your shoulders down and focus your attention on gratitude.
2. Next, think of one thing you’re grateful for. Move through your senses, and find one thing to start with that you appreciate that comes from your visual world, if you have it available. It can be a color… a shade… a shape… a movement. Remember, it will never happen again. What are you seeing right now, and can you be thankful that you see it? , whatever?
3. Now, shift to a scent you appreciate. As you continue to work with your senses, take time now to appreciate a scent. what do you feel How about that wonderful or interesting or subtle smell that makes you smile? It can be thanks to something familiar: a scent that brings comfort, upliftment. Or maybe it’s something you’ve never smelled before, and it just piques your curiosity, ignites you, enlivens you.
4. As you move along, tune in to any sounds around you. Allowing the world of scent to gently fade into the background, inhale, shifting your attention to your ears and the world of sound. Maybe consider what it feels like to actually be heard. How many sounds can you see, and can you feel grateful that if you are, you are able to experience sound? What can you notice about these sounds? Close? Perhaps you can play a piece of music that brings you joy, and be grateful that it is so available? Or maybe it’s the sound of babies laughing, the sound of loved ones breathing, the sound of your own heartbeat.
5. The world of connectivity and texture beckons us next. We got a lot in touch. If there is someone nearby who you can hug or who hugs you, notice how it makes you feel grateful for the joy of human contact. Or maybe you have a cute pet that you can stroke and cuddle, or some beautiful material with a texture that feels soft, smooth, and provocative. Let your senses thank you! It has a lot to admire.
6. Shift to seeing and appreciating the objects around you. Now take a moment to look around: look down, up and to the other side. Appreciate how much effort goes into anything you own or use. Someone envisioned the need and many worked on the design details. Even more care went into the packaging to safely deliver your item. When you thank yourself for what you think all those skills managed to do to make your life a little easier?
7. When you finish this exercise, take this attitude of gratitude with you. One last little gratitude gesture: why not thank everyone who does anything for you today? Even if it’s their job to help you? When you are grateful, when you let your heart open and overflow with appreciation, notice how grateful you feel.
8. Closed with thanks. I am grateful that you worked with this gratitude practice to savor the moment, and I appreciate your time, your effort, and the energy to be present, awake, and alive for your precious life. Have a beautiful day.