Gratitude can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.
Margaret Cousins, Educator and Suffragist: 1878 - 1954

Here we are.

We find ourselves in the usual hectic run up to Christmas, whilst still attending to the safety and wellbeing of our loved ones, our schools and ourselves as best we can.

In the midst of this, it’s easy to lose sight of the small things that lift our spirits. As Jon Kabat-Zinn, the physician who brought Mindfulness to the U.S.A many years ago says “The little moments? They aren’t little. They are everything”.

I began a conversation with a group of school leaders from Melbourne last week asking; what gladdens your heart right now? “The sun coming through the window, my colleague’s face, the sound of children laughing, the smell of coffee”. These were just some of the moments they intentionally noticed, savoured and shared. So in the big-ness of this life, let’s spend time this week turning our attention to and seeking out the little moments that gladden our hearts.

Here’s how Mindfulness can help.

Mindfulness and the practice of gratitude

Gratitude does not always find a natural home in us. As humans, we have a biological bias toward the negative or that which may harm us - it’s hard wired into our DNA. This year, as we have experienced the loss of our collective and universal sense of safety, being alert to risk has become a survival mode for many. This is why, at times like this, it helps to practice intentionally cultivating gratitude in our day to day lives.

Mindfulness helps us to become aware of the changing nature of our mental states and how they impact on our daily lived experience. So we might ask ourselves – where am I placing my attention? If we actively choose, in one moment, to place our attention on that which gladdens our heart and for which we are grateful we are, at the same time, renewing and sustaining ourselves.

It doesn't mean ignoring that which troubles us, but instead invites us to attend to that which nourishes us. Gratitude is much more than a simple ‘thank you’ for something given. It’s an ‘opening up’ to allow the felt experience of gratitude to be part of our daily lives. By attending to our emotional balance in this way, we protect ourselves from feeling overly depleted at the end of the day. 

Try this…

A note on practices. These are very simply an opportunity for you to try a practice and see what happens without expectations. Self judgment may arise in the form of thoughts such as; “Am I doing this right?’, or self doubt in ‘I am not sure this is for me’. Notice these thoughts and as best you can, be curious, be kind to yourself and let them go!

Cultivating Gratitude

Go on an ‘awe walk’.

Why not deepen our natural sense of presence, by opening up our senses and taking an ‘awe walk’ in school or round the office? Walk the corridors. Allow your senses to linger on that which gladdens your heart - a piece of art work, a child’s laughter, music coming from a room, the smell of a floor that's been cleaned.

Stand still, pause, let it sink in, notice the effect it has on you. Breathe. Invite a colleague to talk the walk with you.

Think of a friend or colleague.

Someone who you are particularly grateful for. Ask yourself, “what have I received from this person?” and “what has this person allowed me to give to them?”. Tell them.

Play with language.

Leaders who intentionally embody gratitude use words such as “fortunate”, “abundance”, “gift”, and “blessings”. They notice, they appreciate and they name it.  Find your own language in which to express gratitude. 

Follow @KYRAteaching on Twitter.

Kyra Teaching School Alliance are posting daily on Twitter something or someone they are grateful for in the run up to Christmas – follow them at @KYRAteaching. How might you make your appreciation visible to others?

So… let’s allow gratitude to renew and sustain us as leaders in these next few weeks. In doing so, let’s give ourselves moments to fall back in love with our work over and over again.

If you want to go further (and have time to) here’s a 5 minute practice to guide you in moving from “thinking about” gratitude to directly experiencing it.

A poem to leave you with…

Got the time to explore Mindfulness further?

Head to the Resources page of the Empowering Leadership website for podcasts, articles, videos and more!