“Only hour-by-hour gratitude is strong enough to overcome all temptations to resentment.” —Richard Rohr in Breathing Under Water
Making a list of things I am thankful for usually lifts my mood. I have these lists in notebooks, online, on scraps of paper, and on my phone. I have learned to quickly count out 10 things I am grateful for when I am feeling depressed. I thought I had developed a decent gratitude habit, but the above quote got me thinking. What if I centered myself in gratefulness on an hour-by-hour basis?
Thus began the practice of Gratitude Retreat Days. I pick a day when my mood feels neutral. (It’s more difficult for me to settle down into a meditative state if I am experiencing deep emotions.) Every waking hour, I choose one thing I am grateful for and keep my focus on that throughout the hour. For example, I might pick a person I am thankful for, or an answered prayer request, or something in my life that I usually take for granted. As I go about my daily tasks, my mind wanders into the usual territory of worry. I pull myself back by focusing on that hour’s featured blessing.
I acknowledge that every blessing is from God. Yet, this is more about reminding myself of what I have been given. As I take time to refocus and center my attention on all that I have rather than on what I’m missing--my mindset shifts. The internal void gets filled in with hour upon hour of gratitude.
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