It’s March! Let’s use gratitude to help us navigate this traditional time of swirling change. It seems like every year March feels like a rollercoaster of seasons. We often do not know what to expect in March. It could be bright and sunny one week, pointing to the arrival of spring, and then snow the next, bringing us right back to the feeling of winter. This is such a good representation of how our grief can feel at times — like a rollercoaster of emotions. We may be feeling in a sunny spot with our emotions when a storm of grief can overwhelm us, making us feel like all the progress we have made was ripped away.
During this transitional season, we can practice gratitude to help us focus on the light and the little things in our lives. Gratitude can help bring us out of our heads, and so we can see the little bits of joy in our lives. Gratitude also helps release dopamine for us, making us feel happier or lighter.
Focusing on gratitude can help bring you into the present moment when grief starts to overwhelm you. Each day, write down three things you are grateful for or say them to yourself as you go about your day. These can be big or small things. You can have gratitude for anything, such as nature, characteristics or traits about yourself, your support system, or comforts you enjoy. Once you get started with this, you will find yourself more easily noticing more things throughout your day that you are grateful for. Keeping a gratitude journal allows you to look back on all you are grateful for on the days when nothing seems to be going well.
Examples of things to be grateful for:
● A piece of clothing
● The sun
● A part of your body
● Flowers
● Water
● Books
● Movies
● Pets
● Friends
● Family
● Strength
– by Olivia Grammel