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WHEN your world as you know it is being shaken up, it is common to walk into a spiral of negatives; thoughts, emotions and actions. If you find yourself steering in this direction, acknowledge the situation or feeling and snap out of it. Not in the Thanos way that you or another disappears but more in Iron Man style, reminding yourself of who you are. Once you have done that, assemble – mind, body and spirit.

One practice I find extremely valuable is to stretch my gratitude. Gratitude simply means being thankful. Giving thanks is not reserved during receipt of presents but is something which can be built as a habit. Since young, my parents instilled this quality in my sibling and myself. We were encouraged to give thanks to everything; for fetching us from school, to taking us out and at all meal times. To others, it seemed ‘formal’ that we were saying thanks to our parents for a meal and frankly, when I was little, I thought it was rather silly too. After all, isn’t it their duty to make something nice to fill up my tummy? With time, I realised, it was giving thanks for the time, effort, care, sacrifices and most of all the love that went into all they were doing for us.

Packed with all the benefits of a deep tissue stretch, gratitude is a gentle cleanser to exfoliate the mind, clearing it of any impure thoughts and energise the spirit. For added impact, pen your gratitude in a journal or a note application on your phone. Most times, writing something stays longer in our memory and serves as an inventory to tune back in whenever needed.

If you are knocking your head senseless figuring out what to be thankful for, start with yourself. Give thanks to your heart beat, your breath, your alert mind. Say thank you for the clear blue skies, for witnessing the sunset. Break into a smile as you stretch further. Feel it from your finger tips to every tiny cell in your body. See and notice, there is a lot of beauty within and around you. Stretch again. When I struggle with writers block, I visit my blog and give thanks to each and everyone of you who subscribed to my blog. You motivate me to write the next word and to grow my tribe. For each like, I am grateful that through the post we created a connection and I am grateful for that.

If there is one habit you are looking to cultivate this month, build a gratitude journal or bank. My friend, you will soon notice how wealthy you are as you count all your blessings. There is no limit for being grateful to being alive and well.

Wishing all of you the best of health and happiness in all that you do. STAY GRATEFUL.