Gratitude Isn't Magic

Gratitude has become a bit of a buzzword for focusing on the positive in one's life.

 Technically, though gratitude is simply the state of being thankful; however, we often attach meaning to gratitude that often gives it a hint of the supernatural.

 When I started actively practicing gratitude in 2011, I had a purpose. I wanted to focus on the positive in my life in order to bring more positive into my life. I didn't quite realize there was already so much positive in my life I was downplaying or not noticing at all. The more I practiced gratitude, the more I realized what I was really practicing was noticing and embracing the positive in my life.

 The more I noticed and embraced the positive in my life, the more positive I found, but, as I also stated in The Dark Side of Gratitude, I also noticed the negative in my life more distinctly as well.

 As I noticed the positive in my life, I started working at cultivating more positive in my life. I worked at it. I discovered that it wasn't the gratitude that created the positive in my life. It was the people around me, the events in my life, and me. Action creates the things and moments in our lives for which we can then feel appreciation or thankfulness or gratitude.

 As I embraced the idea of creating more reasons to be gratitude, I worked harder to create the life I wanted to live and to notice what around me worked and what didn't.

 While, as I stated, in my post about the dark side of gratitude, I've taken a break from practicing gratitude in the way I did before, I still actively seek to notice notice the positive in my life and to cultivate positive experiences for myself and those around me.

 Gratitude isn't magic. Gratitude isn't supernatural. Gratitude isn't a panacea. Gratitude isn't even a solution. Gratitude is simply a tool for recognizing the positive in one's life. That's it.
T. L. Cooper is an author and poet whose work aims to empower and inspire through an exploration of the human condition. Her poems, short stories, articles, and essays have appeared online, in books, and in magazines. Her published books include a collection of short stories, Soaring Betrayal, her Silhouette Poetry Series, and a novel, All She Ever Wanted. She grew up on a farm in Tollesboro, Kentucky. She currently lives in Albany, Oregon with her husband and three cats.

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