This time of year can bring out a lot of emotions, high energy demands, and events that require some mental gymnastics! Before you get swept up in it all, let’s take a minute to reflect, ground ourselves, and center on gratitude. This gratitude ritual might seem like a simple practice; however, it can give you the power to change your mood, reframe your day, or process anxiety.
It’s easy to overlook gratitude in our day-to-day lives, so we’ve put together a simple practice that focuses on the quality of being thankful and a readiness to show appreciation and to return kindness.
Before I share the ritual, I want to share my experience with creating a gratitude ritual. The short story is I didn’t think I needed a gratitude ritual. I’m a grateful person and I express thanks and appreciation to those around me. What was another ritual going to do for me?
Well, let me tell you this practice is a must when I feel overwhelmed, anxious, or need to raise my frequency.
We often tell ourselves the same stories about what we need or don’t need, just like I was doing by resisting a gratitude practice. When we take the time to reframe and center on gratitude the following can happen:
- boost our level of happiness
- reduce stress
- improve mindfulness
- change daily perspective
Everyday Thanks - A Gratitude Ritual
The 4 step guide below is a short and sweet daily gratitude ritual. Don’t let the short list of requirements fool you, if you dig deep and get into the habit of expressing gratitude daily this ritual can change your life, just like it has mine!
Step 1 - Get something to write on. This can be a notebook, a scrap of paper, anything that isn’t digital. This is the only part of this practice that is non-negotiable. When I was building my practice, I researched gratitude rituals and the physical act of writing was the one constant in every article.
This is an important part of the process as the mind-body connection of handwriting your gratitude amplifies the benefits.
Step 2- Pick a time of the day, then put it on repeat. This is the "building a routine" part of the ritual so it becomes a habit and a helpful tool.
Just like creating a CBD self-care routine that actually works, if we don’t repeat the practice, how can we expect to see change?
Step 3 - Take a moment to decompress. Before asking yourself to get into an exploratory mindset, your body and mind need some time to slow down before meaningful connections can happen. Try breathing deeply for 2 mins, closing your eyes and focusing on a color, or simply putting your phone down to disconnect before getting started.
Step 4 - Write what you're grateful for. Anything that comes to mind is fair game. This can be “big stuff” like your friends and family members, your health, or “small stuff” like CBD Bath Bombs, the new coffee shop down the street, or that you could afford your therapy appointment this month.
Get specific. For example, rather than saying that you’re thankful for the nice weather, think about describing the temperature, the quality of the light, or the scent in the air.
Step 5 - Reflect On Your Feelings. A recent blog featured on sipsby, frames this part of the practice perfectly. “Gratitude is about more than the actual thing or person that you are grateful for: it’s about how it makes you feel."
"Don’t be afraid to dive a little deeper into the experience, thinking about the emotions that it brings up. Does it make you feel cared for? Safe? Excited?"
"Gratitude is a personal experience, so thinking about how each entry makes you feel and why you are grateful for it is a way to become more connected with what you consider to be blessings in your life.”
The Kush Queen family is grateful to have you on this journey with us. We hope you take this gratitude ritual and make it your own to reframe those ordinary occurrences into beautiful moments of everyday life!
Stay grateful this season!
