How I started anchoring the gratitude… via /r/gratitude

TL;DR – A small ritual to anchor gratitude through expressed writing, it creates a sense of reliving the experience by just revisiting it. Gratitude can be fleeting, so anchor it.

I have come across the virtue (a good quality) of gratefulness very early in my life. Gratitude was something, that I used to list when I felt like recording it, "I am grateful for these 5-10 things today", usually that was all to it.

I eventually realised such list were fleeting for me, they were part of focus when it was time to mention them and that too very superficially. It felt so distinct, so empty as compared to the experience I have of gratitude in my life.

So yes, I came up with a ritual to practice simple living and to bring my focus back on depth of gratitude. A 3 day, 5 minutes ritual to pause and to anchor the gratitude in real, expressed experience, I call it anchored gratitude.

To start, during the day become aware of what is making me feel grateful. Then at a scheduled time of the day, usually during sunset, I write one thing I am grateful for, for the day. Just one thing.
I remember, that one thing for me was, a sparrow landing near me while I was walking down a street. That simple moment was filled with gratitude for nature for me.

In this ritual, firstly, I name that moment something fitting and memorable. Few words. I just name it without any judgement for Creativity or aesthetic sense.
Then, I describe that one moment in vivid detail, as much I as I can. The time of the day, the surroundings, the feelings I felt, the emotions I lived, a gasp, a smile that I had, everything. I make sure I make that moment feel alive through writing. That is anchoring it.

That's all. What does it do for me? Because I limit it to one moment of gratitude, there is no pressure to remember and list. I give one moment enough time and space.

Most fundamental difference is…the shift in day to day perspective to view the life with what I call the lens of gratitude. (That's a discussion for another time)

I hope you enjoyed this read. Have a grateful day!!