Acknowledge Privilege and Plenty | Grateful Perspective – Day 4

Today’s practice to acknowledge privilege and plenty and have a grateful perspective on my blessings is an important one for me.

If you, like me, are sometimes guilt ridden that life has given you so much, then this practice takes on added significance. When I see the suffering, the poverty, hunger and lack of resources that is the lot of so many, I wonder why I am so blessed.

Acknowledge Privilege and Plenty

Overlooking and denying what we have is to diminish our blessings and to disrespect their sources.

~ Kristi Nelson, Wake Up Grateful

As with all these Grateful Perspective practices, I begin by taking a few moments to focus on my breathing and become present to everything around me.

What’s Working Right Now

I make a list of 10 ways that I feel blessed that my life is working right now.

1. My health especially in these times and the fact that I have health insurance.
2. My relationship with my husband that gives me strength, joy and freedom.
3. A comfortable home
4. Access to so many resources – books and the internet.
5. Entertainment – films, music.
6. A variety of food – both homecooked and otherwise.
7. Dependable house help.
8. Peace with the choices I’ve made.
9. Work that I enjoy and the time to enjoy it.
10. The freedom of choice. For example, there are days I can choose just to relax and not work.

I give thanks for these and realize how blessed I am with this abundance.

If Things Are Not Working Right Now

If you feel that not much is working in your life right now, try to find one thing that is sufficient. It could be something as simple as having access to potable water. Or it could be gratitude for something as important as breathing, that some people struggle with. Write a detailed note about this one thing.

Does This Practice Help Change Perspective?

In these time of great uncertainity, focussing on the abundance we enjoy or even on sufficiency, helps us to get a grateful perspective. It helps us to shift our perspective towards facing our personal challenges and that of the global community. We begin to treasure and enjoy all we have.

Also, this experience of sufficiency might move us to reach out to others who are not so priviledged and to act on the needs of the world.

Do you think this practice is something that you will undertake to change your perspective?