Hold On To What is Good: Gratitude and Spirituality
(part four of a five part series on gratitude and nutrition)
Today we circle back to our conversation on Primary Foods, with our focus on spirituality. (For more on primary foods, check out The Four Areas of Your Life You Need to Be Feeding).
Research shows that having some form of spirituality is key to leading a healthy, happy life. But don’t worry, even if you’re not religious you can still bring spirituality into your life. Practicing gratitude is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to do this!
This past weekend I had the incredible pleasure of giving a reading at my cousin Tina’s Catholic wedding ceremony. The New Testament reading she and her now husband, Marc, chose was from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (Romans 12:1-2, 9-18).
While I won’t include the entire passage here, I will highlight a few sections that stood out for me:
Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.
Let love be sincere, hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor.
There it is, right in the New Testament: “hold on to what is good.”
When we practice gratitude, we are doing just that: holding on to what is good. Focusing our mind on “what is good and pleasing and perfect.”
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My gratitude practice helps me hold on to what is good. @Gratitude2Bliss http://tinyurl.com/px7m4kx
While many, if not all religions emphasize gratitude as paramount to being ‘holy’ or “whole,” we do not need to be religious to be grateful. But being grateful keeps us connected to ourselves, to our spirit. It reminds us what we hold dear, what we consider holy and what makes us feel whole in body, mind and spirit.
Practicing gratitude on a daily or weekly basis helps us keep what is good on our radar so that we may stay in a positive light and shine our light onto others and to the world.
What I love about my gratitude practice is that it allows me to stay connected to what is important to me. What “good” means to me.
Last week my son and I joined my husband at a business conference which was held at a five-star resort. While I enjoyed sitting by the pool and having a break from cooking, there were a few simple things I missed: organic food, green juice, cacao smoothies, and filtered water.
You see, these are things I hold dear. Things I write about in my gratitude journal. Things that contribute to my bliss.
If it was up to me, I would have much preferred to vacation at a yoga retreat than a 5-star resort. But this trip was important to my husband and to his business and I was happy to support him and to take pleasure in “what is good” — being together, new experiences, and building personal relationships with his colleagues.
So what is your “good”? What are the things you write about in your gratitude journal?
Please share your “good” in the comments below or on my Facebook page!
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