Principles: Gratitude

The following cards (#13-30) are additional spiritual principles and practices that can be essential in recovery.

Dolphin leaping out of the ocean

          We’re frequently encouraged to develop an optimistic outlook in recovery. Yet the human brain is wired for negative bias – we’re built with a greater sensitivity to what is unpleasant to keep us out of harm’s way. As neuropsychologist Rick Hanson describes it, “The brain is like Velcro for negative experiences and Teflon for positive ones.” Research shows that we need a ratio of five positive encounters/thoughts to balance out a single negative one. Hanson suggests three steps to aid in rebalancing this predisposition:

1. Look for good facts and turn them into good experiences.
2. Really enjoy the experience.
3. Intend and sense that the good experience is sinking into you.

          Gratitude is the recognition and appreciation of what is good; it is an ongoing way to perceive life. It can make us aware of the resources we have instead of what we lack. Yet gratitude requires a conscious effort:

• Do we slow down enough to notice small, unexpected joys – a good cup of coffee, the smile of a stranger or a group of roadside wildflowers?
• Can we appreciate the people who operate in the background, yet whose services make our lives easier?
• Are we grateful for what we’ve been spared?
• Instead of assuming the worst, can we acknowledge we often just don’t know how things will turn out?
• What small kindnesses have we received with no conditions attached?

Listing the good things we experience and reflecting on them can keep the heart from becoming calloused and provide a welcoming space for happiness.

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more.

~ Melody Beattie

For more information on gratitude, see this post.