{"id":410,"date":"2016-10-12T00:13:03","date_gmt":"2016-10-12T00:13:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/?p=410"},"modified":"2016-10-12T02:20:09","modified_gmt":"2016-10-12T02:20:09","slug":"gratitude","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/index.php\/2016\/10\/12\/gratitude\/","title":{"rendered":"gratitude"},"content":{"rendered":"

“It is not joy that makes us grateful, it is gratitude that makes us joyful.”\u00a0<\/strong>-David Steindl-Rast.<\/p>\n

\n

How easy it is for us to long for something we do not have. \u00a0In a world of social media and commercials, we are bombarded by glimpses\u00a0of what others possess, \u00a0Often the very first thing we do upon waking is check social media. \u00a0We might see a new car, remodeled house, skinnier body, designer hand bag, baby bump, clearer skin, luxurious vacation photos, and the list goes on. \u00a0We live in a world of air brushing and apps that whiten your selfie smiles. \u00a0We are hyper-critical of others and ourselves, often longing for our circumstances or statuses to be better than they are.<\/p>\n

\"img_8894\"This type of thought makes you question your life. \u00a0 It makes you want more than what you have. \u00a0It makes you jealous, self-seeking, and anxious. \u00a0How many times have I gone down into the “social media black hole, ”\u00a0as I call it, only to have wasted 30+ minutes of my time and come out feeling “less than.”<\/p>\n

At this point in my life, my news feed is FULL of baby bumps and happy, healthy, chunky little babies. \u00a0I literally opened Facebook one night and 4 out of the first 5 posts I saw were pregnancy announcements, bump pictures or babies. \u00a0 I had to laugh, but just for a moment, I felt “less than.”\u00a0For others, it might be that incredibly massive, sparkling diamond ring that makes them feel like they are the only person in the world who is waiting to meet “the one.”<\/p>\n

When I desperately needed a new perspective last week, I\u00a0realized that my soul craved a little less longing and a lot more gratitude. \u00a0When you stop longing and start appreciating, you can elevate your mood. In my mindfulness training through the Calm<\/em> app, gratitude has stood\u00a0out to me in a time of need. Tamara Levitt says in The 7 days of Gratitude<\/em>, “if people realized that gratitude was kind of like a superpower, strengthening immunity, enhancing optimism and unlocking happiness, they’d probably practice it a whole lot more.”<\/p>\n

Pinterest inspires me each fall to come up with a list of things for which I am thankful. \u00a0But once per year is not enough. \u00a0I’ve learned that Gratitude must be practiced daily. \u00a0I have days when I wake up and just feel sad and overwhelmed, and I have days where I feel incredibly hopeful and full of life. \u00a0But no matter how I\u00a0feel upon waking, I have found that it is essential to make time to be grateful each day. \u00a0Being a nurse, I know how fragile life is. \u00a0Yet some days I feel the weight of the healthcare system on my shoulders. \u00a0I see struggle, hardship, and devastation, as well as HOPE, warmth and JOY.\u00a0\"img_8892\"<\/p>\n

Practicing gratitude forces you to live in the PRESENT, and not in the future with theoretical babies, unknown circumstances, or untold\u00a0events. \u00a0 Gratitude enables \u00a0you\u00a0to stay grounded, knowing that whatever the day brings, you can handle it. \u00a0Back when I started therapy in February, I became aware of how often I tried to look into the future and control what I could not see, or project my fears of “what if?” All that did for me was keep me spinning in a circle of anxiety, fear and depression. \u00a0My therapist let me vent for a while and then would interrupt me when I referred to my future and would bring me back to NOW. \u00a0Now is where I have some semblance of power. \u00a0I have some control of my happiness in the present. \u00a0In the present, I can focus on the gratitude that is buried at times within my soul. \u00a0And this lifts me- making me feel that for this moment, for today, I am okay. \u00a0And I am not “less than” because of what I do not have.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“It is not joy that makes us grateful, it is gratitude that makes us joyful.”\u00a0-David Steindl-Rast. How easy it is for us to long for something we do not have. \u00a0In a world of social media and commercials, we are bombarded by glimpses\u00a0of what others possess, \u00a0Often the very first thing we do upon waking is check social media. \u00a0We might see a new car, remodeled house, skinnier body, designer hand bag, baby bump, clearer skin, luxurious vacation photos, and the list goes on. \u00a0We live in a world of air brushing and apps that whiten your selfie smiles. \u00a0We are hyper-critical of others and ourselves, often longing for our circumstances or statuses to be better than they are. This type of thought makes you question your life. \u00a0 It makes you want more than what you have. \u00a0It makes you jealous, self-seeking, and anxious. \u00a0How many times have I gone down into the “social media black hole, ”\u00a0as I call it, only to have wasted 30+ minutes of my time and come out feeling “less than.” At this point in my life, my news feed is FULL of baby bumps and happy, healthy, chunky little babies. \u00a0I literally opened Facebook one night and 4 out of the first 5 posts I saw were pregnancy announcements, bump pictures or babies. \u00a0 I had to laugh, but just for a moment, I felt “less than.”\u00a0For others, it might be that incredibly massive, sparkling diamond ring that makes them feel like they are the only person in the world who is waiting to meet “the one.” When I desperately needed a new perspective last week, I\u00a0realized that my soul craved a little less longing and a lot more gratitude. \u00a0When you stop longing and start appreciating, you can elevate your mood. In my mindfulness training through the Calm app, gratitude has stood\u00a0out to me in a time of need. Tamara Levitt says in The 7 days of Gratitude, “if people realized that gratitude was kind of like a superpower, strengthening immunity, enhancing optimism and unlocking happiness, they’d probably practice it a whole lot more.” Pinterest inspires me each fall to come up with a list of things for which I am thankful. \u00a0But once per year is not enough. \u00a0I’ve learned that Gratitude must be practiced daily. \u00a0I have days when I wake up and just feel sad and overwhelmed, and I have days where I feel incredibly hopeful and full of life. \u00a0But no matter how I\u00a0feel upon waking, I have found that it is essential to make time to be grateful each day. \u00a0Being a nurse, I know how fragile life is. \u00a0Yet some days I feel the weight of the healthcare system on my shoulders. \u00a0I see struggle, hardship, and devastation, as well as HOPE, warmth and JOY.\u00a0 Practicing gratitude forces you to live in the PRESENT, and not in the future with theoretical babies, unknown circumstances, or untold\u00a0events. \u00a0 Gratitude enables \u00a0you\u00a0to stay grounded, knowing that whatever the day brings, you can handle it. \u00a0Back when I started therapy in February, I became aware of how often I tried to look into the future and control what I could not see, or project my fears of “what if?” All that did for me was keep me spinning in a circle of anxiety, fear and depression. \u00a0My therapist let me vent for a while and then would interrupt me when I referred to my future and would bring me back to NOW. \u00a0Now is where I have some semblance of power. \u00a0I have some control of my happiness in the present. \u00a0In the present, I can focus on the gratitude that is buried at times within my soul. \u00a0And this lifts me- making me feel that for this moment, for today, I am okay. \u00a0And I am not “less than” because of what I do not have.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":430,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-journey-to-parenthood"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/IMG_8807.jpg?fit=640%2C640&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8oEBX-6C","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":459,"href":"https:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410\/revisions\/459"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hopemeetsjoy.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}