Image by Herbert Aust
I woke up this morning to grey skies. The wind had been howling all night, and everything was wet. The wind was still blowing though the rain had stopped. My first thought was "Uh, a grey day!" followed by "I think I'll skip my walk this morning".
Thankfully, I remembered my promise to myself to take a walk each morning regardless of what the weather looked like. My experience is that though the weather "looks" icky, oftentimes, once I'm out walking, the beauty of Nature and the peace and pleasure of walking override the preconceived notions I have about grey skies and rain.
So I got dressed, donned my rain jacket and tall waterproof boots, and off I went. I took the trail through the woods and marveled at the beauty of the ferns glistening with moisture, and the trees shaking off drops of rain. There was no sunshine, but it was amazingly beautiful.
As I walked, I realized -- once again -- that blue skies and sunshine are not a prerequisite to the beauty of Nature and to the enjoyment thereof. Yes the grass was wet, yes drops fell from the branches as the wind rustled the leaves, yes the sky was grey as the clouds scurried past, but it was all so beautiful!
Find Just One Good Thing About the Day
It came to me that perhaps I would be best served when I wake up in the morning to find just one good thing about the day... rather than focus on the lack of sunshine or lack of blue skies. Just one good thing... that the rain had stopped, that the weather was warm even if damp, that I had the leisure of taking a morning walk before starting to work each day... So many things to be grateful for!
And if it had still been raining, if the weather had been cold, if I had woken up too late to take a walk, I could still be grateful for the fact that I had a good night's sleep, or that I live in such a beautiful part of the world, or that I am healthy... or simply, that I am alive!
So many good things around us. Surely we can find just one good thing each morning to be grateful for! The trick is to remember to do it often enough until it becomes a habit... Attitudes are habits, which is why we tend to describe people we know as "happy-go-lucky", or "grumpy", or "liars", or "cheerful", etc. It's not that these people are like this one hundred percent of the time, but rather that this is their predominant attitude. This is the attitude that is their most ingrained habit.
Changing the Tone from Complaints to Gratitude
Yet, it is easy to fall into the complaining habit especially when so many around us seem caught up in it! The newscasters focus on negative events, even friends and family focus on what is going wrong with them -- oh my arthritis! oh my bad knees! oh my! oh my...! -- so that it is sometimes too easy to fall into the trap.
Yet, we can change the tone of conversations... or at least we can change our part in them by focusing on just one good thing.. and then another... and another... Until we have created a habit in ourselves of always looking for one good thing, and then another, and another...
So today I wish you the pleasure of focusing on just one good thing to set the tone of your day... Once you start doing this every morning, you'll find that not only is it habit-forming, it is a habit that is truly enjoyable... and that is a really good thing!
Related Book:
Chorus of Wisdom: Notes on Spiritual Living from over 25 authors
edited by Sorah Dubitsky.
Offering insight and revelation in a manner that is sure to bring positive change, A Chorus of Wisdom is a treasure chest of advice that transcends the ages. Bringing together the writings of over 25 visionary thinkers and including reflections on each essay from the editor, this book shows how to create a life filled with purpose, peace and healing.
Info/Order this book on Amazon.
About The Author
Marie T. Russell is the founder of InnerSelf Magazine (founded 1985). She also produced and hosted a weekly South Florida radio broadcast, Inner Power, from 1992-1995 which focused on themes such as self-esteem, personal growth, and well-being. Her articles focus on transformation and reconnecting with our own inner source of joy and creativity.
Creative Commons 3.0: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License. Attribute the author: Marie T. Russell, InnerSelf.com. Link back to the article: This article originally appeared on InnerSelf.com
