Discovering the Gifts in Every Day
Author: Esther Sarlo, BA, Founder | CEO | Myndful Spark of Mynd Myself
Are you tired of hearing about gratitude? I’m not!
The more reminders I get, the more I remember to practice this most important routine. And yes, I said, “routine!” It’s not magic. It’s not a silver bullet. It’s not obligatory or complacent. However, when I intentionally choose to include gratitude into my life, it has the power to change e v e r y t h i n g.
If you want to get all scientific about it, according to The Gratitude Effect Positivity Journal by Randy E. Kamen, EdD:
“Gratitude is a powerful emotion that conveys appreciation for a moment that has touched you in some way and moves you to express thankfulness. When you experience gratitude, your brain releases neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin, resulting in a host of tangible benefits associated with positive thinking and emotions. Practiced regularly, gratitude literally rewires your brain to be more optimistic, flexible, and joyful, while simultaneously reducing stress and anxiety, building resilience to adversity, and strengthening your immune system, cardiac health, sleep hygiene, and more. These many positive changes to your health and well-being are “the gratitude effect,” and because these effects are cumulative, the more you practice gratitude, the greater its impact over time.”
When I think of all the many things I have to be grateful for…really stop and consider…the blessings far outnumber the afflictions (to use an old-fashioned word.)
I’m Grateful for the Incredible Access I have to:
- A loving and connected partner
- A safe place to live, work, and play
- Abundant whole, organic, well-grown food
- Clean water
- Books from the library to read
- The ability to walk freely in my neighbourhood
- Lovely clothes to wear for all seasons
- Overall wonderful health
- The really great people with whom I am connected
- Laughter and joy
- The plants growing in our little garden
- The businesses I’m developing (Mynd Myself, LifeWave, Stand & Deliver! Workshops) – whew that’s a lot 😊
- Games nights
- Like-minded people with whom to share ideas
- Great conversations—about everything and nothing
- Stories that make a difference
- The resources and freedom to travel again
- And on and on and on…
When I focus on this grand, glorious “embarrass de richesses”—especially in the face of any petty squabbles I might be engaging in or annoyances or roadblocks or values-clashes—it shifts how I’m holding something in this present moment.
For instance, you may know that I haven’t had a medical doctor in over two years. In the province of British Columbia, Canada over 1 million people of our total population of 5 million people do not have a medical doctor! Being sixty now, it was past time to get another round of bloodwork done, especially since I’m monitoring my thyroid and I’m running out of my prescribed medication.
A Walk-in Medical Clinic Journey
Finally, making the decision to go visit a walk-in clinic, I researched the process. You might think that “walk-in clinic” means that you can actually walk in and wait for a doctor to become available. Nope! You have to go into the office physically and register ahead so they have your information on file. Then you have to go to their website the day before you wish to see a doctor—not two days before, not a week before, not a month before, not in an emergency…but 1 day before—and book a time slot. Of course, they advise you to go online first thing in the morning so you can garner one of the few available appointments with whatever doctor is available that day. Oh, and for this particular chain of Medical Offices, even though they are a franchise, you have to register physically with EACH ONE—they do not share records among themselves.
There was a whole lot more rigamarole involved but I’ll leave it there for now, and jump to my appointment with said doctor available at the time of my appointment. He seemed a nice young man, though he remained masked up and stayed a minimum of six feet away from me at all times—despite us being officially past the pandemic and all such restrictions. He asked what I was there for (although I had previously indicated I was there for blood tests on my intake form) and I said blood tests. I was on a natural thyroid medication and my prescription was running low. In order to get a new prescription, I presumed that I needed these objective measures to indicate how I was doing and whether or not my prescription needed to be adjusted.
When I told the doctor I was on desiccated thyroid, he immediately said something along the lines of, “I will absolutely NOT prescribe that for you. It is a natural product, and as such, cannot be precisely controlled. If you wish to use Synthroid or one of the pharmaceuticals I will prescribe that.”
I considered for a moment, quite surprised by the vehemence of his response, and replied, “No thank you. I will stick to the natural medication.”
“Well, I won’t prescribe that for you!” he said.
“Okay, well, will you still order the tests for me?” I asked.
“Yes,” he mumbled. Then he walked to his printer, and essentially shoved the form at me. He did not ask me which tests I thought necessary or would like. He just as quickly as possible flew down the list and then hurriedly walked back to his spot against the wall.
“Okay. So, really, why won’t you prescribe desiccated thyroid for me?” I asked, thinking perhaps I might have not quite understood him.
“I already told you at the beginning. It is a natural product, and it is not appropriate…” he said angrily. “I will be happy to prescribe you one of the other medications that can actually be measured accurately.”
“No thank you,” I said, again.
He opened the door and left the room, sitting down firmly at his workstation about six feet away from the room and with his back to the hallway.
Okay, I guess that’s my cue to leave! As I walked by him, I thanked him for his time. I think he grunted something in response but I’m not entirely sure.
Why Does this Matter?
Why am I sharing this story? Because although I was quite rattled by this exchange, when I calmed down and thought about it longer, I realized I could choose my response rather than reacting. I could choose to be grateful that I actually achieved one of the reasons for my visit—a request for the blood tests I had been needing for the past couple of years. I could choose to realize that although we clearly had different values, the doctor and I, I was responsible for my own reaction or response, and I could choose gratitude for the experience instead of anger. I could also choose to send love his way, which I did.
We are all on our own paths. We all experience the world differently. We all have particular values that have evolved over time and that may or may not mesh with others’ values and behaviours.
How I choose to respond, how I choose gratitude is an indicator of how well I navigate my life. How I do one thing is how I do everything. It’s a check and balance for my willingness to live love!
I love my life! I am so blessed. And I’m grateful…even in and for the things that challenge me. Even if/when it takes me a ‘minute’ to get there. I’m developing an ‘attitude and habitude of gratitude.’
What will you be grateful for today?