Gratitude – My Cup Runneth Over

On my website if you look over to the right, there’s a button that says Ask a Coach Community. If you were to press that button you could become a member and you could receive a free personal/spiritual growth writing assignment or journaling question every week for a year. Many people are writing frequently and I love this wonderful community that is forming.

I was inspired to write about the way one of the members completed this journaling question or assignment. The assignment begins like this:

Your mother probably told you at one time or another, “You should feel grateful for what you have. The children in ________________________ are starving.” This is likely what helped give gratitude such a bad name. It’s surprising what a bad reaction I get (or give) when I or someone close to me is feeling down and “list the things you’re grateful for” is the suggestion. Once we feel sad or afraid, are we stuck? We only feel stuck. Expressing gratitude is an amazing tool to move through these negative feelings. Negative feelings can affect our health and life adversely.

Then there are many suggestions of exercises to do. Well, one of the members decided to begin to teach her 3 children about gratitude by asking them what they are grateful for.

Her 17 year old listed the things you’d expect her to list including “getting my phone back”.

The 10 year old boys list said:

1. My good fortune to have freedom
2. My family
3. The freedom of speech
4. To do good in school
5. That I have good food on the table at mealtime

And the youngest, almost 3-year old boy drew a picture of his babysitter/pre-school lady!

The member said about her little one, “I have no idea what part of grateful he understood, but amazing was his response.”

I feel so blessed to have association with people who are teaching their children about gratitude. My cup runneth over.

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