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Gratitude for Hard Times
By Penelope Young Andrade LCSW
Are you grateful for hard times? Although you may welcome reminders to be grateful, you probably don’t strive to be grateful FOR hard times themselves. If you’re like most of us, hard times are something you wish would pass as fast as possible. The problem is that hard times are usually your best teachers and provide profound gifts. Giving thanks for dark times is often a prerequisite for receiving these blessings.
Here’s the tip. First, acknowledge your pain. Hard times hurt. Feel. Breathe. Cry. Find loving support. Repeat as needed. Be gentle as you tend your wounds. Whenever you feel soothed, review your life for previous upsets with positive outcomes. Keep looking. Interview friends about difficulties which led, finally, to delights. Read about others’ triumphs over great troubles.
Next, spend time in silence. Be still. Bring your focus to the present moment again and again. Allow sky, flowers, trees and children’s faces to guide you back to gratitude. See if you’re ready for a leap of faith. That means giving up, giving in, and giving over. Remember, you wouldn’t know pleasure if you hadn’t known pain.
Finally, accept, allow and appreciate this hard time while it lasts . . . always asking “What lesson do you have for me? What is your gift?” Cherish these moments until the disguise of darkness falls away and leaves you bathed in light.
Penelope Young Andrade LCSW
www.penelopetalk.com
Email penart@abac.com
Penelope Young Andrade LCSW is a licensed psychotherapist with over 35 years experience integrating the best of traditional and alternative approaches for bodymind transformation. www.penelopetalk.com 858-481-5752 penart@abac.com
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