When the tears press so hard on the inside of your eyelids, so hard that you are certain the dam will break and your heart feels like shattered glass, it can feel like your world will always be this grey. When times are rocky, really, really rocky, it is often difficult to believe that the sun will shine again.
When common platitudes, spoken by a friend, want to make you lash out at the person using them, and yet deep down inside you know that what they are saying is true; this is when it can take the most self-discipline to collect your thoughts, reflect on your blessings and step forward into a new moment with grace; in gratitude.
Grabbing onto and holding tight to your gratitude is the antidote to feelings of helplessness. Really, it is! Even if all you can say is “I am happy and grateful” over and over, the doom and gloom will lift.
How do I know this? I know this because I use this technique whenever my life goes dark. As I feel myself sliding into despair and helplessness, I grab hold of my thoughts and I begin repeating the words, “I am so very happy and grateful that…” and slowly, after a few times spoken, I am able to fill in the end of the statement with the amazing blessings that I enjoy.
This exercise has taken me from darkness into light many times in my life. It has helped me to walk through ‘the valley of the shadow of death’ with dignity and grace. It has restored my faith in knowing that the ebb will flow again and it has given me tremendous solace when nothing seemed like it could.
All you need to do to ensure that this technique will help you is to use it! The rest will take care of itself. If in doubt, just try it out. Even in the direst of circumstances, there is always a thread of life to be thankful for.
Karen Popoff The Transformationalist
