T: Thankful
Noticing opportunities to be thankful…
It was August 2020 and my 34th birthday. After what had seemed like far too many months of separation and isolation, it felt like a breath of fresh air to be able to see my family up close again. Noticing the cheeky smile on my nephew’s face in anticipation of more cake, or hearing my brother and my dad have a seemingly random conversation about nothing much. It was as though every largely normal movement had been somewhat amplified.
And of course, it had. Only a couple of months before, my son had just turned one and his first birthday had consisted of doorstep visits and a cake cutting over Zoom. So yes, seeing and feeling this time around felt different - even if windows were wide open and we spent a lot of time in the garden not quite as close together as we might have been if a pandemic hadn’t swept the globe a few months prior.
What none of us had perhaps anticipated though, (or maybe we had, but we’d just secretly hoped against it) was the fact that we’d go back to how things were in Spring of 2020 in just a few short months, and that we’d be ‘locked down’ again. More missed special occasions and even more missed loved ones.
I’m thankful for those memories of August, though. I’m thankful for the things I noticed then, which I probably wouldn’t have given a second thought if it wasn’t for the dreaded C word.
In fact, I’ve thought a lot about that the past few months - the things I’ve noticed which I might have otherwise not. I wonder if the same has come to mind for you?
You see, I think that this time in our lives has taught us the importance of gratitude on a whole new level. But I also know that we can all too often forget so quickly.
“She barely remembered him now; it scared her a little. Life before he died seemed only like a story she’d been told.” - The Vanishing Half, Brit Bennett
This quote landed in my mind at this moment. In the fact that one day, all of what we’re going through and have been through now will be a story we tell. We’ll have to tell it, because how else does anyone understand something which once was, but isn’t anymore? But what will we tell? Will we simply say it was hard and awful and we’re glad it’s over? Will it only be expressed as something told, rather than something lived?
Or, will we speak of the fact that for the first time, we’d slowed down enough to notice the seasons change?
Will we tell of the anticipation and excitement we felt when loved ones came to visit - if only to wave from the front gate?
Will we mention the gratitude we gained from unexpected gifts and notes in the post, because although we’re all more connected than ever online, there’s still something special about the sound of the letter box clicking open?
There’s no question that this past year may have, perhaps, been much more about enduring than it’s been about enjoyment. But joy’s still been there for those who have wanted to notice. Joy we wouldn’t have even counted had we not shared in this collective experience.
So, what now?
How do we harness what could otherwise be so easily forgotten and allow it to change the look of our future as well as our present?
It’s no secret that gratitude is a powerful tool which we all possess to some degree. It’s also like a muscle we have to train if we want to reap it’s benefits. The past year has allowed us to train this muscle more intensely than ever - it’s caused us to be grateful for the small (but important) stuff we might have otherwise overlooked. Having gratitude is a ripple effect, too. The more we notice the good, the more we notice the good.
And so with that, a couple of journal prompts for you:
What have you noticed and been grateful for this past year, which you wouldn’t have otherwise given much thought to?
How will you carve out space and time to continue to be grateful for these things, even when everything feels more ‘normal’ again?
How could expressing gratitude (either inwardly or outwardly!) for these things change your day to day moving forward?
“Enjoy the little things. For one day you may look back and realise they were the big things.” - Robert Brault
Noticing what we can be thankful for is the first ‘pillar’ of the 4-part framework I’ve created under my new business name ‘Time & Pace’. There’s SO much to say about gratitude and how its very essence can change so much in, through and around us. More where this came from to come when we ‘officially’ launch in April.
In the meantime, if today’s message has given you some food for thought and you’d like more where it came from, please follow the new Instagram account ‘@officialtimeandpace’ and spread the word! Just a screen shot of this message tagging us makes all the difference as I work on sharing this framework far and wide.
Have a wonderful day, and remember to stay thankful. It truly changes everything.
Keep going. Keep growing.
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