Gratitude, Serenity, and Joy

Gratitude is one of the most powerful emotions that we’re capable of experiencing. It can turn just about any situation to a positive.

I learned this trick…

When you’re angry with someone, think of a time you were grateful for something they once did. It can be anything, no matter how small. Concentrate on the feeling for a moment. You will no longer be angry.

When you’re feeling depressed, think about a time in your life that you felt grateful for something. Again, it can be anything, even something stupid like being tired and then feeling grateful for being able to lie down. Concentrate on the feeling for a moment… and… guess what? You will no longer be depressed.

The first few times you try that, it might only last for a second, but that’s still a success! And with more practice, those moments can be extended.

And just as a warning, I’m about to get really obnoxious with this line of thinking.

If you were completely happy all of the time, you wouldn’t really know it. You wouldn’t be “happy.” You’d be “normal.” We can measure “happy” because it is a contrast from “sad” and we understand both extremes by experiencing them.

Sometimes when we’re depressed, it’s really hard to think of anything to be grateful for. At the very least, you can be grateful for this contrast in the moment. How you feel when you are depressed shows you the other end of the spectrum, how far you have moved, and how far you are able to shift the scale again to the positive end.

This is supported by the Principles of Hermetics — namely, the Principle of Rhythm, which states, among other things, something along the lines of “the measure of the pendulum swing to the right is the measure of the pendulum swing to the left. Rhythm compensates.”

Imagine that your emotions are a pendulum swing. Swinging to the left is depression and swinging to the right is pure joy. In the course of human existence, we naturally swing back and forth between both extremes. You cannot have one without the other. And quite controversially, this also means that you cannot experience higher levels or joy without experiencing higher levels of misery. Both sides must be equal.

So the next time you’re in a rut, just meditate and picture the pendulum swing of your life. Don’t try to force it back in the other direction. Instead, just visualizing yourself rising above the swinging of the pendulum.

Will that actually work? I don’t know, man, I’ve just been going on tangents. This was about gratitude.

Right?

So, I’m pretty tired right now, but I’m grateful for you. If you’re reading this post, just know that.