Have you ever been in the pits of despair, only to have someone come along and say:

“Cheer up. It could be worse”

or,

“Look on the bright side!”

or,

“Think about what you have instead of what you don’t have.”

I have and in those moments, I wanted to shout back at them. “Leave me alone. I don’t feel lucky. I don’t see the bright side.”

We’ve all been there, unable to feel grateful for what we have because we feel empty or broken inside. It’s hard to feel grateful when your life sucks but here’s something just for such occasions.

In this post I want to take a deeper look at those times in our daily lives when we don’t/can’t feel grateful or present to all the good things happening in our lives. I know it is hard to feel gratitude when we feel betrayed by life or our health is failing or a loved one has died? How do we come to gratitude when we feel abandoned or alienated by our passions and love?

I feel this happens partly because we feel empty inside. So many people feel like they are not good enough that they can’t get to truly feeling grateful. What I mean here is that when you don’t feel like you are enough within yourself to be loved or appreciated, when you feel like you need so much to even get your face above the water line to stop yourself drowning, it is virtually impossible to be glad about anything. In these situations, we are treading water; in survival mode. It may not always be this extreme but even the smallest flicker of the survival instincts can close the channel to receiving and experiencing the goodness that is all around us.

If you ever find yourself snarling or not being able to muster a list of things to be grateful for then I recommend these 2 exercises for you.

Exercise 1

Our imagination when consciously directed becomes a steadfast ally and helper for creating health and wellness. Simply follow the prompts and fully visualize the scenarios below for a speedy pick me up.

When you just waking up or getting ready to fall asleep or when you are feeling a slide into no self-confidence imagine that:

• not just one but many are grateful for your being – who could these people be? Friends, colleagues, children?
• you are loved – what does that feel like?
• you mean so much to someone – how does it feel to be so loved?
• you light up life – think of a time you did that.
• you bring freshness to the monotony of life – your thoughts, ideas, and feelings that create freedom.
• people (include four leggeds, plants, fish) look forward to being with you
• many feel blessed to know you – this is a spectacular vision

Exercise 2

This one is a little bit more challenging. Dig deep and ply those imagination muscles. Give these exercises a go and visualize these scenarios even if they are only done for a few seconds at a time, they will begin to steer you in the direction of wholeness and fulfillment.

• walk as someone who has time
• move in life as someone who has everything
• give as someone who has been loved deeply
• speak with the knowing that you will be heard
• listen as though your listening is helping that person bloom
• look up, look around – see how far you can see
• inhale and exhale as though you were the universe breathing

Feeling empty, unloved or not good enough is not fun for anyone. Choosing to do something about it is a freedom that we all have. This freedom can be exercised no matter how dire the straits..if we practice these exercises when things aren’t so bad then we can come to rely on the muscles they create when things head south.

Did this post resonate with you? What spoke to you? Have you ever found yourself unable to enjoy yourself because you want more than you already have? Tell me your story I would love to hear it.