I am quite taken by the idea of practising gratitude. If you have watched the Brene Brown talks below you will know that she addresses the importance of living gratefully. Brene talks about how we live in a world dominated by 'scarcity' - a polar opposite to gratitude (I am para phrasing here). Brene says that for many of us, our first thoughts for the day are about scarcity: we haven't had enough sleep, don't have enough time, aren't thin enough, clever enough, smart enough, loved enough ......
The opportunity to practice gratitude offers a different way of being in the world. I set myself the task of practice gratitude for a week. I kept stopping and reminding myself to see the gifts I was being given. Now, not everything was a gift, there were somethings I was not grateful for - somethings were just shitty. But, there was something special about stopping and being grateful for the everyday gifts I was being given, it shifted my energy and made life more enjoyable. There is a TED talk by David Steindl-Rast posted below on the subject, you might find it interesting.
http://www.ted.com/talks/david_steindl_rast_want_to_be_happy_be_grateful
The opportunity to practice gratitude offers a different way of being in the world. I set myself the task of practice gratitude for a week. I kept stopping and reminding myself to see the gifts I was being given. Now, not everything was a gift, there were somethings I was not grateful for - somethings were just shitty. But, there was something special about stopping and being grateful for the everyday gifts I was being given, it shifted my energy and made life more enjoyable. There is a TED talk by David Steindl-Rast posted below on the subject, you might find it interesting.
http://www.ted.com/talks/david_steindl_rast_want_to_be_happy_be_grateful