The Synchronicity of Joy and Gratitude
So, the ongoing joy and gratitude experiment is going nicely. As discussed here, the gratitude experiment began about a year ago. It is a simple add in. Does not take up any valuable time or require any heavy lifting. Every night after I turn off the light, I do a list of things for which I am grateful at the end of that day. It can be as specific or general as one desires. The key, however, is that you must be grateful for ALL that occurred that day. The good/bad, easy/hard, fun/scary – the uplifting along with the challenging. This appears to be where most folks opt out. At least they say so in our conversations. It seems to be a real sticking point. Somehow being grateful for things that upset you or test you are viewed by most as something for which they choose not to be grateful.
I get it! I too was surprised and a bit puzzled by the instructions when first confronted with them, but I have come to find the gratitude for what did not work just as satisfying as all the things that make my life easier or more enjoyable. Maybe a bit more. The tough moments are there for us all to learn something or get the message that we are not on the right track. It is not to say that adversity builds character, but when you pause for a moment and acknowledge that you noticed and appreciated the hill you had to climb things begin to soften and change. In my experience so far, the previously insurmountable moments no longer seem as grand or scary. They are still there; it could just be that the anxiety regarding them has lessened.
Perhaps it is simply the fact that by being grateful the energy shifts from adversarial to collaborative. Maybe it calls in our angels or at least opens the doors of our ego to allow for help to arrive.
The joy thing is still a work in progress. It is very easy to go about day-to-day living being kind, connecting, making people smile or laugh or feel seen. The struggle for me is in remembering that it is not my job to “make” anyone accept the joy or even see it. I am simply the distribution vehicle not the delivery truck. Again, the nuanced difference between distribution and delivery is bigger than you think. I still marvel at folks that stand stock-still and will not even attempt to grab a bit of sparkle from the air. The urge to stop the distribution and run back to pick it up off the floor and hand it directly to them or better yet just smear it across their being is still a bit strong, but I believe if I stay the course this too will ease up for me. I just keep chanting, “it’s not my job, it’s not my job, it's not my job, it's my job – oops NO IT IS NOT!
Finally, the number of synchronistic events that are occurring is interesting and appears to be increasing. This, however, could simply be psychic cognitive dissonance. I am just noticing them more now that I have taken off my own blinders. The good news is that it does not matter what it actually is, only that it is. Go give grateful a try – you might EN-JOY it!
