I like to surround myself with things I love and value because I believe what I often tell my coaching clients..."What you focus on, you create."
While shopping one day, I found these great dinner plates that said “I Love Family”. When I brought them out, everyone smiled and there was a noticeable shift in energy. They became a great reminder of how much we love our family. That is, until the day one of the plates got a little chip on the rim.
After that our kids who were about three and seven, didn't want that “messed up, chipped plate.” Suddenly these plates, these reminders of our love, became a source of discord, arguing and complaining…
“I don't want that plate! It’s broken. I had it last time. Give it to someone else!”
I felt frustrated, but I also wondered, “How can I help us remember the love for family that these plates once symbolize?”
And so one Thursday I announced, “Today is a very special day. From now on, Thursday dinners are going to be called ‘Chipped Plate Thursday Thanks’ and whoever gets the plate with a chip in it, will be showered with statements of love and gratitude by the rest of the family.”
A look of delight crossed everyone’s face. Suddenly the broken, unwanted, chipped plate became something special, something wanted, something valuable.
There are many things I love about this gratitude ritual.
- It teaches our children that things that aren't perfect can be better than ideal…that something broken can become a gift and all it takes is a new perspective or reframe.
- It helps us cultivate the practice of sharing our gratitude so that this skill becomes easy and natural to use at any time and any situation. People often tell me that our kids are very gracious and grateful and I know practicing gratitude at home helps! :)
- It allows us to see the positive effects of gratitude immediately on the face of someone we love. This high vibration is contagious and soon we are all feeling the effects of being grateful and feeling loved.
Many of us already know that gratitude has been scientifically proven to improve health and increase happiness, but I also believe that gratitude is one of our key feminine powers.
By practicing gratitude and presence, our eyes are open to see the beauty and abundance all around us. As William Arthur Ward said, “Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.”
Creating a gratitude practice is easy; making time to do it is usually the obstacle. However, when you realize the benefits of this simple act, who wouldn’t want to reap the blessing of this soulful skill?
Interested in starting your own gratitude ritual? Here are some ideas to get you started:
- 1. Create a gratitude journal either in a paper journal or create a list on your phone. Make a list of 3-5 things you are grateful for daily. There are also apps you can download for this too.
- 2. Create a bedtime ritual with your children and/or your partner. When tucking your kids in bed or snuggling with your loved ones, share 3 things that you are grateful for this day.
- 3. Create you own version of “Chipped Plate Thursday Thanks”, a meal-time ritual. It can be as simple as picking one day a week to share your gratitude at breakfast, lunch or dinner. By tying a gratitude practice to a day of the week, you turn it into a ritual and it’s much easier to remember.
- 4. Celebrate and be grateful during the full moon. A full moon is about abundance and celebration and so is the perfect time to have a gratitude ritual. If you don't already have one, I invite you to join me and the rest of my community in our ritual by subscribing to my “bi-moonly” newsletter here. Each new and full moon I share tips and journal prompts on how to fan the flame of your “Feminine Fire” by connecting to your unique inner power, love and wisdom.
Inspired? I’d love to hear which ideas you’d like to adopt or hear your creative, new ones.
Gratitude is contagious, so comment on the blog and let's create a gratitude epidemic. ;)