Optimism and gratitude go together hand in hand, like two sides of the same coin. Gratitude is the practice of looking back and being thankful. Optimism is the practice of looking forward and being hopeful.
Alesha Printz
Welcome back to our Co-Creative Mandalas blog!
Each month, we share insights, inspiration, and all the ways the cycles of the Great Mandala uplift and support you. We draw upon the metaphors and messages of each season to explore and celebrate our individual and collective journeys toward Unity.
The Co-Creative Mandalas have a name that represents something about the natural world and
the energy of the current time.
This month's mandala is Optimism.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving in the US and November comes to an end, I'm delighted to express my gratitude for YOU, for your personal practices and your efforts toward helping make our world a better place. It's because of you that I feel such optimism about the future.
Today, many of us in the US will sit with our families and friends at the Thanksgiving table, hold hands, and humbly express our gratitude for the blessings in our lives. How ever you celebrate Thanksgiving (or even if you don't), you may have a similar ritual.
I love this Thanksgiving ritual. Practicing it one day a year is a great way to incorporate gratitude into our life. Why not enjoy all the benefits of gratitude year 'round by intentionally practicing gratitude in daily life?
What is gratitude, anyway?
Gratitude is one of many expansive emotions. It's about focusing on what's good in our lives by pausing to notice and appreciate the people in our lives--family and friends, and the things that we may take for granted, like having a place to live, food, clean water, and even internet access.
What is the difference between being grateful and thankful? Where thankfulness is an emotion, gratitude is an attitude of appreciation under any circumstance. Gratitude involves being thankful, but it is more than that. Gratitude means expressing thankfulness and being appreciative of life daily. The effects are profound.
Rob Wergin
Think of gratitude as a very powerful, felt experience that dispels constricted energy and clears disruptions to our energy system, just as a candle dispels darkness or breath work opens our awareness. I wonder what would happen if we intentionally shifted our attention toward gratitude on a continual basis? What would life be like? What would it feel like? What would it look like?
What are the benefits of practicing gratitude?
Scientific evidence is mounting that the act of practicing gratitude has far reaching psychological and physiological benefits. These include reduced inflammation, lower blood pressure, less pain, more exercise, and better sleep (Lindberg, 2019), as well as reduced fatigue, improved immune function, and cardiovascular health.
Studies (and experiences) also show that gratitude helps us connect with others and build and strengthen relationships. It helps others feel good about themselves when they hear that they are appreciated. Practicing gratitude boosts self-esteem. When you focus on appreciating who you are, (yes, even those parts of yourself), you are remembering your wholeness, your goodness. That's a powerful practice!
Gratitude increases satisfaction with life. Appreciating what you have, taking stock of your experiences, the joys in your life, and all your blessings, are important for enjoying life.
Gratitude is a habit you can cultivate, like brushing your teeth or drinking enough water! By taking time each and every day to focus on gratitude for all that you have, you’ll start to appreciate the gifts in your life even more. By focusing on the positive, you invite more positivity into your life.
How will you practice gratitude today? How will you hold it in your heart every day?
Practicing gratitude cultivates optimism.
Thinking about what we're grateful for helps create optimism.
Optimism in action has the potential for changing the world.
Viewed through the lens of optimism, all the troubles--individually and collectively--we experience and see today offer ways for accelerating our individual and collective awakening. Rather than focusing on the crises (admittedly, by all appearances there are quite a few), we can choose to see the opportunities.
There are so many heartbreaks happening in the world right now. And still, that does not compare to the power of humanity to elevate and heal whatever situation we are in. Especially when we work together. That perspective gives us the choice to use our ability to transform and co-create a better world, one in which we are working together in Unity.
Gratitude is immersing ourselves in the greatness of life. It is the foundation of optimism.
Julio Olalla
Optimism is an extraordinary, free way to shift the constriction that comes from fear, division, and separation to the expansion that comes from wonder, curiosity, hope, and love. Optimism isn't about deluding ourselves into believing something that’s not true. It’s about noticing where our attention flows, and learning how to direct it in helpful, not harmful, ways.
How do gratitude and optimism create a brighter future?
Being mindfully grateful supports these qualities of optimism: positive emotion, resilience, and social connection. If you want more expansive energy in your life (and by extension, in the world) now and for the future, there are plenty of simple ways to cultivate it. How about replacing complaints with gratitude statements? Be more mindful of and grateful for the current moment, and see little things that enhance your life — the gentle breeze, the colors of the fall leaves, the warmth and comfort of sharing a meal with people we love and care about. Incorporate Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT Tapping) into your self-care routines to help clear the blocks to your energy system.
We can also practice gratitude as a way of living that shapes our experiences and fosters optimism by turning the expressions of gratitude back toward ourselves, allowing us to be an embodiment of gratitude. These feelings and sensations of gratitude--warmth, joy, ease, safety, and connection--activate self-repair, self-regulation, and healing. Even on difficult days, accessing and embodying gratitude helps shift our perspective and our perception of our experiences from constriction to expansion and toward optimism.
Every day we have the opportunity to be grateful for what is. To believe that things can get better. To create space for new possibilities.
The Co-Creative Mandala "Optimism" below is from a photo of chrysanthemums (symbolize optimism, joy, and well-being) and are associated with the solar plexus, heart, and crown chakras. It reminds us that we are here to fulfill our potential for learning, growing, and remembering our wholeness. The story we tell ourselves makes all the difference in how we see the world; choose a life story that supports and sustains you.
When we acknowledge and then accept our circumstances, and choose gratitude and optimism, we are led to hope and happiness.
Dr. Gregory Jantz
Gratitude and Optimism Practice:
Intention:
The real power of the practice is the intention you place behind it. Start your day with gratitude and by setting the intention that you are dedicating time for self-care, to remembering Optimism, and awakening to Unity. This practice is a simple method of helping you to honor the power of practicing gratitude for shifting your perspective toward Optimism. This practice reminds you to remember the light within you, be grateful for what is, and consciously wish yourself and others well-being, happiness, and peace.
Allow yourself plenty of time to complete this practice. You can start and finish on different days. Remember, as you co-create this practice, be gentle with yourself as you discover what nurtures and sustains you.
Before you begin the practice:
There are two parts to this practice.
Part 1: Invest time toward moving into stillness.
When you are ready, invite any subtle colleagues, allies, your guides and helpers to join you in your sacred practice. Wait a moment for that connection and alliance to form.
Next, invest some time for reflecting on the Optimism mandala.
Let you gaze fall softly on the mandala. Use one or all of the following prompts for connecting your energy to the energy of the mandala:
What message does it have for you? How will you embody the gratitude that is the foundation of optimism ? How will honoring Optimism support manifesting your vision? How will you nurture the mandala of your life? How will you practice self-care and self-compassion by welcoming the shift toward the dark side of the Great Mandala?
Part 2: Viewing the Past, Present, and Future with Gratitude.
A better world, a brighter future, begins with each of us individually; how we relate to ourselves and others. We can light up our life and our troubled world with love and light. To accomplish our purpose, one of the best tools we have easily available is gratitude. Gratitude fosters optimism, which strengthens hope.
Practice Gratitude for:
The Past:
There are 8 billion people on the planet – and pretty much all of us have had stressful events in our lives to one degree or another. This is the human condition--this is our shared humanity.
Everything that’s happened in your life has been purposeful to bring you to this moment now. Send blessings to the challenges and pain, filling those experiences with light and love, because it’s stretched your capacity to grow.
Take a moment to consider the possibility that the stressful events or people that hurt you in the past can turn into a source of healing, growth, and wisdom.
Think of an event that was stressful or a person that you had difficulty with. What can you find in that experience that you are grateful for now? Who were the people that supported you during that time? In what ways did the experience or person inspire you to make positive changes in your life?
Practice Gratitude for:
The Present:
Each day seek out opportunities that allow you to look at life from a different perspective.
Making Gratitude Lists or writing in a gratitude journal and actively thinking about the good things in your life will shift your perspective and cultivate optimism.
Right here, right now--look around you and write down five things you are grateful for.
Write the names of five people, near and far, who contribute to the goodness in your life.
Now, write down five qualities you appreciate about yourself.
What physical sensations, feelings, or thoughts came up while you were making your gratitude lists? Write down your experiences.
Practice Gratitude for:
The Future:
Optimism is the anticipation of the best possible outcome.
As you embody gratitude, despite the changes and challenges you face, you can fill your days with more optimism when you remember that by doing the best you can at the time you create a brighter future for yourself and the world.
Imagine your life 5 years from now. What are you doing? Who are you with? What are you most proud of about your yourself and your life?
Optimism is contagious.
Right here, right now with gratitude:
Breathe in the optimism that's all around you.
Now breathe out that wonderful energy into the world.
Wishing your the blessings of gratitude and optimism--today and every day.
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