When I was about 10 my mother said something to me that I’ve never forgotten, at the time I thought it was a very sad thing to say:
“Expect nothing and be grateful for what you get.”
I now realise that mummy was wiser than I understood, or that she would have known at the time. We’re talking mid 1960’s here and the Beatles hadn’t quite bought enlightenment out into the open.
Attitude of gratitude
An attitude of gratitude is key to mental health. I know it sounds woo-woo, but it’s true-true. It’s part of keeping your mindset in the right place for optimum health and mental health.
We’ve had a lot of worry with a cat recently, and on one particularly low day, no one asked me how we were, how she was. On a low day things matter a lot more. As a person who does her utmost to remember when people are low, having problems, bereaved, I always ask, I realised that I was expecting support, and that can leave you in exactly the place I landed up in.
It’s about differentiating between the person you want to be for the good of your own soul, and what other people are. Also what they’re going through. You might think I’d know that by now, but the last four weeks have been the worst rollercoaster we’ve ever been on, and I’m way past thinking straight.
It’s important to forgive yourself at times like this.
However, when mum’s ‘be grateful’ message popped into my head this morning I immediately felt better. Focusing on feeling alone wasn’t helping. Realising that no matter how kind people are, I’m still the one who has to cope, well me and hubby, that helped too. It’s deeper than that though.
An attitude of gratitude allows you to see both sides of the coin, where you’re struggling, and also where you’re fortunate, instead of getting bogged down in the struggle. The more you focus on the fortune the more the energy inside you lifts, and the better you feel. It all helps.
An attitude of gratitude is a good whole-life mindset.
Deb xx
Deb Hawken - Amorah 