Welcome to this week’s issue of Weekly Wellness Wisdom! I’d like to especially extend greetings to our new subscribers with gratitude that you’ve joined our community of Wellness Seekers.
Each week we explore the process of following our paths toward “Authentic Wellness”: Essentially this is an ongoing experience of growing into a place of balance and renewal which also honors our unique perspective and spirit.
I emphasize emotional, relational and spiritual well-being, with the awareness that when these dimensions of wellness are supported, the other aspects of well-being (such as physical health, our relationship with food, etc.) tend to follow more naturally. We inspire ourselves and feel pulled toward a place of balance; we are no longer “pushing” ourselves.
If you find this newsletter helpful and supportive, please share it with your friends and colleagues. Simply forward this email and invite them to subscribe. Thank you for passing it on! I grow through your recommendations and I’m grateful for it.
What’s New from Centered Living
Complimentary Teleclass! Have you participated in a Teleclass? If so, you know this is a fun and convenient way to connect to folks all over the globe! If you haven’t tried a Teleclass, this is the perfect introduction. It is as simple as making a long distance phone call (and this is your only cost).
The 60 minute Teleclass will take place on December 6th at 7pm, EST. If you’re unable to attend live, you’ll be sent an audio recording via email. We’ll explore “Holiday Wellness” and clarify how you can best experience authentic wellness through this joyous and sometimes hectic holiday season. I hope you’ll join!
Simply send a blank email to lori.boothroyd-273698@autocontactor.com (you don’t need to fill in any details) and your interest in this Teleclass will be registered! There is no cost and absolutely no obligations. This is a gift from me to my readers. Stay tuned for more details.
Wellness Wisdom Feature Article
The Gift of Gratitude
I wrote this article about gratitude last summer; so many of you wrote to tell me how much you liked it I decided to give it an “encore” performance this weekend in honor of the US Thanksgiving holiday. Enjoy! ~ Lori
An old French proverb defines gratitude as the memory of the heart. This definition seems fitting because keeping gratitude in mind certainly expands and fills our hearts. It is very easy to remember the negative and not acknowledge the positive in our lives and the things for which we are most thankful. The more we are able to consciously acknowledge and appreciate sources of gratitude in our lives, the more good stuff we will subsequently bring into our lives. I guess you could say that by practicing gratitude we attract even more positive and good. So it is really an upward spiral of life-sustaining energy and experiences. So how do we more consciously practice an attitude of gratitude?
My challenge to you this week is to create a simple ritual or routine that will support you in acknowledging what you are grateful for each day. Try it for a week or two and see what happens. Here are a few simple suggestions:
Designate a notebook or journal (or perhaps a portion of a journal) to simply keep a list of three things you are grateful for each day. No matter how small, ponder your day until you find at least three good things to jot down. A computer document will serve the same purpose; just find a simple way to take a few minutes each day to write down what you’re thankful for in your life. Some days I find three or more wonderful things to write down, other days I need to consider my day to find gratitude. After pondering, I then recall my gratitude for the consideration of a highway driver who made open space for me to merge, or the person who anonymously mailed my drivers license to me after I lost it in my travels. No matter how large or small, just write it down. Notice how you feel after writing down and reminding yourself of what you’re most grateful for today. You may be surprised by how good you feel after this very simple exercise!
The power of writing down what we are grateful for each day is two-fold. First, the act of keeping a gratitude list or journal shifts our mood and attitude as we review the day and think about acts of kindness, our good fortune and the overwhelming positive elements in our lives. Secondly, over time a list of gratitude grows that we can review during those times when we may feel down or discouraged. The gratitude list gives back and doubly reinforces our attitude during the times we need a lift up the most. It can also be very supportive and powerful to share your gratitude with a dear friend, spouse, or family member. Ask others in your life to share the best thing that happened to them today. Teach the children in your life to identify and share their gratitude.
So consider keeping a list of what you’re grateful for each day and notice what may shift in your heart and in your attitude. I suspect it will change your life for the better!
Another suggestion is to simply use this newsletter each week as a cue to sit down and list 10 things you were grateful for in the last week. Experiment and see what works best for you.
I’d love to hear how your gratitude practice goes for you. Please send an email to me with your experiences of gratitude journaling at lori@loriboothroyd.com.
Personal Reflections
The Gratitude Challenge
Have you ever had a day when, no matter what happened, you felt certain the sky was falling (just like the story of Chicken Little)? I certainly have my days when I’m working a little harder to find the attitude of gratitude and all seems off-center. I have a photo of a deer (a large stag in fact) in my office that reminds of a day when I had a tremendous gratitude challenge and a profound shift that came because of an unexpected visitor.
I recall an early autumn day a few years ago, sitting outside on our deck and feeling so down, so disheartened and hopeless. I allowed my mood to crash, almost self-indulgently. Tears slid down my cheeks as I slumped in a deck chair. What is striking to me is that, try as I might, I simply cannot recall what I was in such a funk about! But I remember very well the lack of gratitude, the pity and poor me that was taking place. And I stared down at my ungrateful toes while big tears dropped on the deck.
What brought me out of this stupor? Unbelievably, I heard a loud cracking sound in the woods below our deck and some corresponding crunching sounds. I slowly looked up, brought out of my sad reverie, and what did I see right below me, stomping toward me out of the woods? Yep. An enormous, though quite young buck, probably the biggest deer I’ve ever seen. It is so rare to see a creature like this out in an open meadow, in the middle of the day, at the advent of hunting season. Yet, here was this magnificent creature, looking right up at me, piercing me with his eyes! I was frozen, dumbfounded. He stared at me for a moment and then stomped at the ground with his front hoof and snorted – so loudly and abruptly that I jumped and actually squealed out loud. It was as if he was saying to me “Enough! Snap out of it!” And then, I got it… and giggled. Here was this magnificent, dignified source of life energy in front of me. I looked beyond him at the beautiful meadow, the pond where a pair of swans raised their young cygnets each year, and all the majestic trees surrounding me. In that moment, I felt the gift of life. Gratitude returned and flowed through my veins. The image and experience is forever burned in my memory.
And then the buck turned tail as they say, and bounced off into the woods, disappearing as suddenly as he appeared. But, believe it or not, there was time for me to take his picture! Who knows why, but my camera was sitting just inside the patio door. I took a chance, broke the magic of the moment and took a few pictures. I shared one of those photos above.
May you have moments that will forever remind your heart of gratitude.
To your wellness,
Lori
About Lori
Dr. Lori Boothroyd is known as the “Coaching Psychologist”. She has served her clients and students well over the years through integrating her knowledge from earning a Ph.D. in psychology, as well as her advanced training in coaching and wellness psychology. Appreciated for her warmth and down-to-earth style as much as her expertise, Lori is a dynamic speaker, author and coach. She lives in Traverse City, Michigan with her husband, Dr. Gregory Boothroyd. Together they authored the book “Going Home: A Positive Emotional Guide to Promote Life Generating Behaviors”.
For a complimentary coaching consult, to inquire about programs or to ask any questions, please email: lori@loriboothroyd.com
