She’s such a delightful soul and I’m so glad I connected with Cat Graham of Cattitude and Gratitude on a Facebook group for bloggers. Cat lives in rural Ottawa, Canada with her husband, two sons, two cats and two dogs! She’s very creative – sings in a choir, plays the flute, designs posters and calendars and decorates cakes…..I love that every Monday, Cat has a gratitude reminder on her Facebook profile. More recently, she’s started a Facebook page called Positive Thoughts and Gratitude. I love Cat’s attitude, humour and fun style of writing and am so happy to have her writing here today.
Welcome, Cat.
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Practicing Gratitude Take Practice is part of the Living Gratitude Series
It is in November that negativity sneaks into my conscious and tries to take hold like a nasty virus. This is the time that practicing gratitude is more important than ever. Pushing aside that negative chatter takes work but it’s well worth the effort. If I take the time to practice daily gratitude, all that negativity washes away and the world looks rosy and full of possibility once again.
But how does someone practice gratitude? It’s not enough to just feel it. As J.F. Kennedy wisely said, we must live it and show it in our words and actions.
Here are some ways I practice gratitude.
- I start each day by reading positive quotes, inspirational blog posts and uplifting Facebook pages to start the day off right. They always make me feel grateful and positive.
- I like to create my own inspirational posters with favourite quotes and my own photos. I have my own Facebook page to share these posters.
- I just made a calendar at Lulu of some of my favourite inspirational posters to help us be inspired all year long. Do check it out here.
- Being isolated can often be a bad thing as you lose perspective and the inner critic drops by for a visit and doesn’t leave. Talking to non-judgmental good friends can be so helpful in restoring that feeling of gratitude. Aren’t we lucky to live in the Internet age where connecting with friends is easier than ever? I am so grateful to my online friends who are always there to lift me up on dark days.
- Getting in touch with your passions and taking time for yourself helps in feeling gratitude. If you don’t nurture yourself, you can easily feel resentful, overwhelmed and start to feel sorry for yourself.
- Get up and move. Go out for a walk. Just the change of scenery and the exercise will help you feel better and more open to gratitude. I love being able to walk our dogs in the forest and see nature up close. Putting up a bird feeder and watching birds also helps me feel gratitude.
- Taking action in some way to make the world a better place is a wonderful way to practice gratitude. It doesn’t have to be huge. Even offering praise to a clerk or a waitress will make their day and make you feel good, too. Surprise someone you haven’t talked to for a while with a phone call or email and tell them how much you appreciate them, or better yet, send a note by snail mail. Getting a letter in the mail is so special these days and the person will be able to feel your gratitude every time they look at it.
If we look hard enough, there are always moments in the day where we can practice gratitude.
Lastly I will leave you with this poem I wrote about gratitude a while back.
Grateful or grumpy, it’s always your choice
Are you mad at the world or do you want to rejoice?
It all comes down to your thoughts and attitude
Are you full of anger or full of gratitude?
You see the world in your own unique way
Your thoughts and attitude determine your day,
Grateful or grumpy, it’s up to you
What would you prefer to do?
Cat Graham
I so agree with the first point. I might feel grumpy some days getting the kids ready for school, specially after a late night at work, but once I am through my normal round of inspirational quotes and posts, there is sure and evident change in the way I would face the day.
Thank you Cat 🙂
Lovely post from Cat Graham, once again containing some easy practical ideas to get out of the negativity rut that all of us fall into once in a while.
Am truly loving this Gratitude series of your Corinne 😀
Jairam Mohan recently posted..Clash of the morons
Thanks Cat for sharing some wonderful practical tips to follow. Agree with starting the day with positive thoughts… the day is what you make it… positive inspiring messages do change your outlook. 🙂
Shilpa Garg recently posted..I Don’t Understand This
Love all your points. Writing can be an isolated world. Starting the day with gratitude makes all the difference for me. And talking a walk:))
Lovely post Cat 🙂 with easy and practical tips!! Loved the poem too…thanks!
Aditi recently posted..Living with “A”
Gratitude is something that gets us going on all the days – irrespective of how the days are. Thanks Cat for these beautiful remainders. the quote from JFK was indeed a thoughtful one.
Joy always,
Susan
Such a lovely poem it is. I must print it out and paste it on my fridge! It is all comes down to our choices. We can chose to be grateful for the smaller things in life. Being nice to people is also a show of gratitude. Well said Cat. From now on I am your fan too. I too need good inspiration and quotes to help me start the day on a bright note. Nice meeting you here o Corinne’s blog.
Jyothi Nair recently posted..Black hole or not?
Agree fully with J.F.K that gratitude shown be shown in words and actions. When I did the Art of Living course , we were told to talk to the building watchman or the paperboy and laundarywala as a friends as we ignore these people and talk only when necessary. Connecting to them as humans makes a difference to their lives and we get the highest degree of satisfaction for making a difference to their lives.
A lovely post. Even simple things can can bring a change in our attitude. The last line of the poem is very powerful. Grateful or grumpy it is up to you. Well said.
usha menon recently posted..Information Please.
I prefer grateful but then it needs more control over grumpy. Grumpy is a natural reaction to life it seems. It is being grateful that takes an effort. I too follow a routine of reading quotes which can fill me with happy thoughts and also practice some things learnt…
Richa Singh recently posted..“Mom, actually there is a trip”
Thank you to you all for all these lovely comments to my post. I enjoyed writing it and sharing with you about how I try and beat those neggies that threaten to spoil my day. I’m not perfect by any means but taking action and making the effort to live your gratitude is what counts.
Thanks so much to Corinne, for giving me this opportunity and her patience in guiding me on the finer points of guest posting! LOL!
I agree. Every thing good that we want in our lives begins with a little gratitude for what we do have in the first place. Thanks for sharing!
Michelle Liew recently posted..Stretching your dog’s mind
Lovely poem and message. Life seems to roll along so much more smoothly when your attitude changes and instead of looking for the bad you concentrate on the good. Being thankful and grateful helps me tremendously! ♥
Kathy recently posted..Afternoon
Love your list, Cat! I do everything you listed and can endorse they all work! Loved your Lulu calendar and the great verse at the end of your post!
Hugs!
Vidya Sury recently posted..Inspiring Stories. You Are Stronger Than You Think
Thanks so much, Vidya. I just read your wonderful gratitude post and really enjoyed it. I can see we both value the importance of practicing daily gratitude. Some days are harder than others but it is worth the effort.
Cathy Graham recently posted..Practicing Gratitude Guest Post at Everyday Gyaan
Lovely list. Walking and inhaling fresh air always helps me out of my grumpiness. And also surrounding myself with a happy group of people.
Great post! 🙂
I totally was nodding my head at one statement in particular.. the part about how isolation can be a really bad thing and being grateful for the role that online friends play. So many people I am close to in my life today are people I have never met in my life! And in a world where you feel alone in a physical crowd, having friends who care for u , albeit online, is still a welcome blessing
Great post, Cat! I can relate to those negative feelings creeping in around this time of year. Seasonal Affective Disorder, due to lack of sunlight gets to many people in the northern hemisphere. I do follow most of your suggestions and it definitely makes life better, all around. So great to have online friends as well as offline ones. 🙂 Greetings from the GTA, (Toronto suburbs).
Debbie recently posted..GUEST POST AT EVERYDAY GYAAN: HOW GRATITUDE WILL HELP YOU COPE
◾Getting in touch with your passions and taking time for yourself helps in feeling gratitude.
I agree.
Great Post! Thank you. x
My Inner Chick recently posted..Keep Holding On. Footage of Kay’s Last Days.
Love your poem Cat – summed it all up very nicely. Great post.
Suzy recently posted..A personal touch
Hi Cat! Thank you so much for your reminders of how to live a more grateful life. While I think every one of them is important and do them regularly, it’s amazing how easy it is to forget about them on and off. AND one of my favorites is your #1–reading uplifting FB quotes. I actually refuse to follow anyone (or any page) that doesn’t routinely post things that are uplifting and make me feel positive on a regular basis. So just about everyone I follow is mostly inspiring and yes, as you say that builds gratitude. Thank you for your ideas and keep spreading the gratitude! ~Kathy
Kathy Gottberg recently posted..Three Blocks That Keep Us From Living A Happy & Grateful Life
This is so true, Cat! I think having a positive attitude is the most important thing–even if it feels like you are having a lousy day, if you can just focus on at least one good thing that happened, it will help you through it. Gratitude is usually soon to follow.
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