Election Peace Challenge Day 6
Gratitude is magic. When you feel it, emotions like anger, frustration, and anxiety melt away. The more you immerse yourself in thankfulness, the more inner peace you experience. And the more things you discover to be thankful for. It’s truly the fastest route to feeling better.
So what if we did something different with gratitude? Something like this:
Send a thank you note….about something that happened more than five years ago.
Writing a thank you note of any kind will bring you more harmony, especially when you spend time genuinely feeling the gratitude and reliving the gift.
But just think what you’ll feel if you go back in time and, with hindsight, thank someone who inspired you. Or gave you a job. Or served as your mentor. Or helped you fix a flat tire. Or brought you soup when you were sick. Or listened when you were down.
One of the gifts of this simple exercise is to think back to the people who have been a positive influence in your life, and to survey the landscape of gifts you’ve received.
Writing one highly retroactive thank you note might lead to another. And another. That’s not a bad way to feel better about your life, and to focus on what’s working in this world rather than what’s not. And the bonus, of course, is that' you’ll make someone’s day.
So have fun with it. And take a deep breath. It’s going to be okay.
A NOTE TO MY READERS: I write this column as a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. You can subscribe for free. However, if you enjoy my work, please consider showing your support by becoming a paid subscriber at whatever level feels right for you. The Iowa Writers Collaborative is made up of some of the foremost regional journalists in the country. Each writer is independent and has a Substack of their own. Thank you!
Linking readers and professional writers who care about Iowa and the world.