Happy Wednesday everyone 

It’s the morning of the 25th of March, my phone dings to remind me that it’s gratitude day. For the last 5 years on the 25th of every month I have had a ding from my phone to remind me that it’s gratitude day. 

What is gratitude day? 

Everyday it’s good to be grateful but once a month I go out of my way to make a concerted effort. I call friends and acknowledge them for what they have done for me. I express gratitude for cashiers, retail workers, labourers or whoever I meet on that day. I tell my clients how much I appreciate their support and how they help me grow as a trainer.  I buy coffee for strangers. Simply I spend the day in a state of acknowledging others and expressing my gratitude.

You may be wondering why I do this? 

I truly believe that an attitude of gratitude is the key to a fulfilling life. What we focus on makes our meaning of life. Abundance or scarcity, what you already have in life or what you want, love or fear. 

It’s okay to feel shit

Before I get into the gratitude list, I want to say that it’s okay to feel down. The reality is that businesses will close. Livelihoods will be devastated. People are dying and more will die before we get a hold of this virus. So, it’s okay and normal to feel down.

But I am not saying that it’s all doom and gloom and to wallow in despair. 

Yes it’s an uncertain scary time but let’s take a moment to remember all the amazing things 

45 Things to be grateful for right now 

  1.  Your parents for giving birth to you – if it wasn’t for them, there would be no you 
  2. Your family  – For being the tapestry that binds you together 
  3. Friends – for being your companions on the journey of life 
  4. Your heart – for just beating without you having to tell it to 
  5. Your sense of smell – for letting you stop and smell the roses
  6. Your sense of hearing  – for letting you hear the sounds of loved ones
  7. Your sense of sight – for letting you see the colours of this world
  8. Your sense of taste – for letting you experience such culinary wonders. Sweet, sour, savoury, salty and bitter
  9. Your sense of speech – for giving you an outlet to express yourself 
  10. Your sense of touch – for giving the gift of connectedness
  11. Your hands – for allowing you to flick the pages of a book or for me to tap away on a keyboard and write this 
  12. Your lungs – for allowing you to breathe in the amazing prana (breathe of life) 
  13. Your immune system – For fighting off viruses (somewhat poignant right now)
  14. Your arms – for big hugs with loved one 
  15. Your legs – for walking, running and allowing you to explore this world 
  16. Your brain –  for allowing you to think, problem solve and remember 
  17. Your school – For teaching you and giving you an environment for learning and growing
  18. Your teachers – for their dedication to teaching you and helping you become who you are today 
  19. Your tears  – so you can express your sadness, let it out and feel a spectrum of emotions 
  20. Your sadness – because without it you couldn’t experience happiness 
  21. Your happiness  – because it feels good
  22. The sun  – for brightening up your day 
  23. The sunset  – for a magical end to another day 
  24. The rain – for providing the plants, trees, grass with water 
  25. The wind – for reminding us that the strongest trees are grown in the strongest winds
  26. The sunrise – for a fresh start to a new day
  27. The moon and stars – to remind us of the magic of this world
  28. The snow – for throwing snowballs, skiing and adding even more beauty to mountains
  29. Rainbows – for giving unicorns slides to whizz down on
  30. The internet – for letting us connect while in lockdown
  31. Mother nature  – because she is the most badass superhero that looks after all of us
  32. Music  – for reminding us to dance in the rain
  33. Books  – for giving us knowledge and wisdom
  34. Your photos  – to remind you of the magic moments in life
  35. Movies – for inspiring you
  36. Animals – to remind you of unconditional love
  37. Fire – to keep us warm in these winter months
  38. Your failures – to learn from and grow
  39. Adversity  – to allow us to rise up
  40. All emotions – anger, fear, sadness, happiness, joy, trust, anticipation etc so we can really experience life
  41. Your heartbreaks –  for helping you mature
  42. Your health – because as cliche as it is, it’s your wealth
  43. Your mortality – for serving as a reminder to really live
  44. Love  – For letting you feel what it truly means to be alive
  45. 45 – Life  – For giving you a chance to experience the rollercoaster. The ups, the downs, the wins, the loses, the romance, the heartbreak, the love, the despair. And every little thing between.

In these crazy times, I hope this serves as a nice little reminder to be grateful. Many of us have and will lose so much but there are things that we will never lose. 

Don’t forget – You are amazing, stay safe