Immersing Yourself in Gratitude

"Gratitude produces only positive emotions—love, compassion, joy, and hope. When we focus on what we are grateful for, fear, anger, and pain melt away." M.J. Ryan (Author)

If you only complain and criticize, your way of thinking will naturally become negative, so if you make a conscious effort to be grateful, your way of thinking should naturally become positive as well.

Why not try changing your way of thinking so that you can be grateful for everything, and learn how to be grateful?

Also, when someone's kindness touches your heart, do you think, 'I'm so grateful'?

Or do you think, 'I feel bad'?

There are certain temperaments that tend to think, 'Oh, I'm so grateful,' or 'Oh, I'm so sorry,' aren't there?

What I recommend is to deeply immerse yourself in gratitude, thinking, 'Oh, I'm so grateful...'

You may not realize it, but you are constantly being helped by many people and your environment...

Since the only way to experience the richness of life is to live with a sense of gratitude, try to make it a habit to be grateful for what you have right now, before you start criticizing or complaining about things you usually take for granted.

Imagine that the water you are showering with is water of 'gratitude,' and you are just bathing in it.

A bath of gratitude water is also fine, isn't it?

When you do this, you can deeply immerse yourself in the feeling of, 'Ah, I'm so grateful.'

Even for small things, even for things you take for granted, there is always something to be grateful for around you, and since joy is what follows gratitude, try making it a habit to start with gratitude.

Even in any situation, don't forget to be grateful; if you have a feeling of gratitude, your perspective and way of thinking about other things will naturally change.

This is very good for both your body and your mental health.

Because even when you are in the midst of any hardship, you won't feel the suffering.

The reason why gratitude is good is that you can immerse yourself in positive emotions in an instant.

If your feeling of gratitude increases from what it is now, your inner richness will certainly increase as well.

Pay attention to the fact that if you link gratitude with cost-benefit calculations, it may not be genuine gratitude; I want to enrich my heart so that I can be grateful with a pure and honest feeling.

It is a plus to always maintain positive emotions in order to stay forward-looking.

Furthermore, as the saying goes, 'illness starts in the mind,' and you yourselves must have experienced firsthand how your usual thoughts and emotions actually influence the state of your body.

The mind and body are truly connected, aren't they?

That is why, even if you cannot immediately think of things to be grateful for, it is good to set aside a day like this to immerse yourself in gratitude and search for things you can appreciate.

Conversely, what if you find yourself feeling apologetic or guilty whenever someone does something for you?

In Japan, in particular, there is a strong cultural habit of prioritizing consideration for others, using phrases like 'sorry for the trouble,' 'I hope this isn't a bother,' 'thank you for your support,' or 'I am sorry.'

While this is, in its own way, a beautiful spirit of humility.

I feel that gratitude might be better to prioritize instead.

What happens when you feel apologetic during a precious opportunity for gratitude?

Feeling sorry can turn into guilt, or lead to strange worries like, 'Is it really okay for me to receive this much?'

The familiar feeling of guilt is a prime example of a negative emotion.

Besides that, you might even become suspicious, wondering, 'Is there an ulterior motive?' and your heart will not be at peace.

In reality, there are times when that is the case, but...

If so, wouldn't it feel better to just take the leap and focus only on gratitude?

The other person would also be much happier and more at ease if you accepted their kindness gratefully rather than feeling sorry.

Next, I would like to explore whether there is a feeling behind that sense of apology, such as 'I don't deserve to have this done for me.'

We express this with the word 'worthiness,' a concept involving uncertainty about whether or not you deserve good things.

If you don't feel that you deserve good things, you may be unable to accept the kindness of others, leading you to feel apologetic or even reject it entirely.

The reason some people go out of their way not to choose the path to happiness is this very issue of worthiness.

Where this comes from can vary, ranging from low self-esteem or self-worth to simply disliking oneself.

When self-esteem is low, it naturally tends to lean toward the negative.

You are properly connected.

If you are too critical of yourself, your self-evaluation will also drop.

This leads to a negative spiral.

To break out of it, practicing gratitude is an easy way.

It is also good to consciously think that it is okay to be grateful and receive even more.

It seems that being a person who can receive help from others while being grateful is also the secret to staying positive.