Is your glass half full?
It is easy to take what you have for granted and be chronically dissatisfied. Focusing on what blessings you have can transform your mind and your life.
Benefits
- Provides antidote to chronic dissatisfaction
- Increases your awareness of your blessings
- Helps you stay in the present moment
It is so easy to be caught up in feeling a chronic sense of lack, encouraged by a culture that says you never have enough and are never good enough. You may find yourself fixated on that new car, a better relationship, new towels or a different place to live as the key to making you a happier person. But you may have noticed, seeing your glass half-empty all the time makes for a miserable life. Always looking to the future means you aren’t really present in the life you have right now. By meditating on gratitude on a daily basis, you will reduce your dissatisfaction and increase your contentment with the life you have. Happiness, you will discover, is ultimately a state of mind.
Meditation
When
If you are preoccupied with wanting things you don’t have.
Preparation
Write down everything you want that you don’t have.
Then write down ten things you are grateful for.
Practice
- Find time to be alone in a place where you will not be disturbed. Sit in any way that makes you comfortable. After doing the preliminary exercise above, read over the ten things that you have listed.
- Generate a sincere sense of gratitude for each item on your list. If you are grateful for your health, feel thankful for your good fortune. If you have a car, no matter what condition, be sincerely grateful to have transportation. If you have a partner, think of their wonderful qualities and be grateful that they are a part of your life.
- After you have gone through your list, sit quietly and thank yourself, God, the universe, or whomever or whatever you choose, for the gifts you have been given. Resolve, on a daily basis, to be mindful and grateful for the blessings you have.
From the The Meditation Bible by Madonna Gauding.
Alexia Miall
Alexia Miall
Alexia’s career began in banking and then moved via advertising to a major career change in 1980 to Adult and Transformational Education. She has been privileged to share this incredible journey with 1000’s of like minded souls through her extensive experience as a facilitator, trainer, life coach, therapist, and mentor. She managed her own training company in Victoria during the 1990’s, and during this time was the Course Leader for a training program from which the Banksia Environmental Foundation formed.
Alexia has acquired further education in Adult Education in Training; Somatic Psychotherapy; Life Coaching; Conflict Resolution; plus Accreditation in many behavioural and culture change models. She is an Associate of EcoSTEPS, a niche Sustainability consultancy, which supports her love of the natural environment.
