An Attitude of Gratitude

(air fizzing) (air clicking) (bells chiming) Headspace Studios. (calm music) Greetings, my name is Kessonga, and I welcome you this Friday morning to Radio Headspace. So, many people I know, friends and family, have been getting the COVID vaccine, and I've just got mine. I see this as first steps, first crucial steps, to returning to quote, unquote normalcy. And I'm not the only one thinking this. The other day, my daughter started on a super extended rant about where our next family vacation will be. She was excited to do this, being that she's been cooped up in the house for the past year or so, as many of us have been. She started naming all of these exotic locations, some very realistic, others not so much, but what moved me was her excitement and pure joy of thinking about the future and what was to come. And it was addictive and contagious. Before I knew it, I was pulled in too, talking about possible travel destinations. In fact, for many hours after talking and fantasizing with my daughter about future travel, I was still totally in fantasy mode, daydreaming about exotic locations to vacation and hold retreats, and then my present moment awareness gently kicked in. I realized that I was getting lost in fantasizing and not bringing my full awareness to what was presently happening. And I also got to thinking about the concept of gratitude, bringing an attitude of gratitude to what I have right now in this very moment. It's so easy at any given moment, but perhaps more so during these days, to get caught up in fantasizing about what's to come when there's plenty to be excited and grateful about right now. In my mindfulness-based stress reduction class, we have a home practice called a pleasant events calendar where during the week we look for moments that bring joy and happiness to our lives, and these don't have to be grandiose moments. It could be something like discovering an old friend on Facebook, or bumping into an old friend on the street, or watching a baby sleeping, or you getting a good night's sleep. This is a practice that's excellent for cultivating that attitude of gratitude. So I took a moment and thought about what I had in that very moment to be grateful for. I distinctly remember what came up for me. During that time, it was when the cold spell fell across the west, Texas in particular. Many people in Texas lost power, so at that moment I was aware that electricity was steadily flowing through my house. My heat was on, the refrigerator was on, and so I just sent immense gratitude for these comforts, namely electricity. I eventually explained this to my daughter and she wonderfully caught onto the concept, and I also explained that there's absolutely nothing wrong with fantasizing about what's to come or even setting a goal to achieve it in the future. Being aware of when...