Manifesting and Practicing Gratitude
Gratitude can be difficult to feel in today’s world. We often find ourselves rushing around, trying to be efficient, getting frustrated at anyone who slows us down. So we beep, honk, swear and groan our way through our days trying to get..where?
It can be hard between all of this to feel gratitude for the small things that happen around us… or the big things that we don’t even see. Gratitude is manifested through slowing down, noticing what is happening around you and looking sometimes at the bigger picture..
In practising gratitude, we realise that there are so many people and things in this world that are trying to help us along our way, who want the best for us and who are genuinely interested in our happiness. They may be friends and family members, something small such as a flower or rainbow, they might be the strangers you interact with while doing your groceries or the bus driver that waits that little bit longer as they see you running to the bus stop.
Part of manifesting true gratitude is to realise that you as a human are not an island. You are not a sole person who exists in a void, unchanged by the goings-on around you and unable to change your world. All of our actions have consequences, and we can choose to take ethical actions every day. When we feel ourselves as interconnected we become grateful for the things people do for others, for the planet, for the oceans and rivers; we feel gratitude for things not necessarily directly affecting us as an individual.
“If you have come to help me you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”
A perfect quote stated by Lilla Watson, a Gangulu woman who grew up in the Dawson River region of Central Queensland. She became a well known activist and artist for her people. The quote shared sums up how we need to act in our lives, for the good of others because we are all bound and connected as one, this is a beautiful selfless way to manifest gratitude.
TA Team x
