Gratitude is a powerful thing. It can be a hugely uplifting feeling, and it’s one that I have learned to embrace and focus on through mindfulness practice. I even feel quite proud of myself sometimes because of the time I take for daily gratitude walks. And then a funny thing happened recently when I had a perfect opportunity to be filled up to the brim with gratitude …
It lasted about 10 minutes.
From February 1 - February 6 we had a power outage in the complex I live in in Austin, Texas. This was caused by a rare sort of ice storm that took down branches, limbs, and entire trees. Temperatures with wind-chill factor were nothing like what the Northeast and other areas of the US suffer through regularly - but they were right at or below freezing, and Texas is just not prepared to handle those conditions well.
I braved the storm by retreating to a hotel half way through the first day of the outage - mostly because I work 100% remote and I can’t do that with no electricity. It was a terrible struggle for my faithful dog and I. No lovely walking paths to enjoy, a shower that topped out at lukewarm with weak water pressure, shoddy WiFi, and horrible hotel coffee.
On Day 6 of hotel life when we found out power was back on and we could return home, I was elated. I’m pretty sure my canine pal was too. On the drive home and over the course of our first moments back at home I must have said “it’s so great to be home” to her a hundred times. I was thinking about how lovely a real cup of coffee would taste the next morning and how great a hot shower was going to feel. We were out on our familiar walking trails just a few minutes later and feeling grateful for all the trees that survived the storm and just for being home.
I also thought about how immensely fortunate I am. I had the ability to pickup and flee to a hotel (not a luxury hotel, but still) without any worry about the cost. We stayed warm. I thought about all the people for whom that was not an option. About homeless people. About all of the many thousands who died or lost loved ones in the earthquakes in Turkey.
Then those 10 minutes went by, and the shift came. So long gratitude - hello creating stress for myself, thinking about 47 tasks that needed doing. Work-related tasks, things to do at home, things I didn’t get done because of those stupid no power days - like nothing ever happened :(
Good for you for those 10 minutes! Grasp them, relish them, and know they will come again. Somewhere, someone, seemed to imply that we should be joy-filled, happy, grateful *all* the time, but life and our emotions don't work like that. Our emotions ebb and flow, just as our life does. Glad you and your dog had a safe and warm place to go!
Nice thoughts, Patrick!
My "gratitude journey" is definitely highlighted when I write my daily journal. I have a section specifically for Gratitude and I usually have a handful of thoughts every day about how grateful I am for my life and circumstances. Have a great day! Ernie