A Balanced Approach to Wellness!

Posts tagged ‘Gratitude’

Thankfulness with Trenta


Trenta is the large sized drink at Starbucks. Why is it used here? Because largeness is what we want when we’re being thankful. Largeness in feeling and largeness in expression!

Here are ways to add large sized thankfulness into your life:

  • Add an Appreciation ritual to your eating. Consider all the people who contributed to your meal, from the people who worked in the fields harvesting the vegetables to the people who worked in the store or restaurant packaging the food or working the cash register. If your meal includes meat or dairy, consider the animals who gave their lives or milk for your nourishment.
  • Add Appreciation of Abode into your weekly or daily schedule. This ritual can include going from room to room expressing thankfulness for the people who use these rooms or for the rooms themselves. This ritual can include looking at your home/apartment/tent from the outside and expressing thankfulness for the whole structure.
  • Add “How wondrous is the sky” thankfulness to your daily routine. The first time you go outside, even if it’s just to quickly walk to your car, look at the sky and express thankfulness for it. Even if it’s raining or too hot.

Many more rituals can be added to your thankfulness quest:

  • Considering the majesty of your body each time you go to the bathroom is one way.
  • A daily Rising and/or Retiring ritual to start and end your day with thankfulness is balancing.
  • Every time you choose a decorative item for your home (like a rug or a vase) or for your body (like an article of clothing or shoes), quietly give thanks that you have the ability to choose.
  • On each birthday, consider the previous year and give thanks for all that happened in it—even the less good things. Then give thanks in advance for the coming year.

There are so, so many ways to add trenta thankfulness into your life. Remember: the larger, the more effective!

Change approach: Is 10:90 reality?

90 1- reality

“The feeling of life in one’s body is an extraordinary feeling. Noticing the feeling of being alive, of being awake, of being vital. Amazing! Yet we often take the amazingness for granted and don’t appreciate it. Too many of us focus on pain or discomfort or hurt feelings. Those things exist, but they are minor in comparison to the body’s vitality!

When the blues hit or the bones creak, they take the focus and move miraculous existence to second place. Keep in mind that emotional ebbs and physical challenges are just parts of living—but they are not the main elements. They steal attention from the important aspects of life, and we must be vigilant to not become immersed in the difficult and unhappy moments.” This reminder about the importance of perspective is from the “Introduction” in Vitality!.

10 : 90. This ratio is important to remember. It is the average of negative and positive things in a person’s life. 10% is the negative things; 90% is the positive things. The positive things are largely taken for granted and the negative things receive importance way beyond their significance.

10 : 90. Bah. That 10% feels heavy. How can it be so small? The little annoyances and the larger afflictions expand beyond their actual effects because they are deviations from the normal state and they are cacophonous communication from our bodies. When something is out of whack or when happenings occur that derail us, the noise they make catch our attention and require action. The 10% perpetuate. Because they bother or annoy or require attention, they grow—if not in actual size then in demand for attention. The 10% needs attention and resolution (when possible).

10 : 90. The 90% is the take-for-granted percentage. It includes these three things: sleeping and rising refreshed and ready for the next day (when sleep is not trivialized), regular functioning of the body, and ability to accomplish many goals. It includes these three things: having shelter from the elements, delight in possessions, and clothing for the body. And it includes home helpers (washing machine, refrigerator, lighting, entertainment suppliers [TV, stereo, computer, etc.], and many more), indoor plumbing, and food that is easily accessible and does not need to be foraged or hunted. Continuing on, there is photography and there is storage. The list grows and diversifies for each person, family, and community.

The 10 is small next to the 90  SMALL  Small   small. The 90 is deserving of thanks and attention.

Think 90 : 10 !


Living life with gratitude

ExpectationLiving life with expectation is positive when the expectation is shared. The word “shared” is tricky. It means that the expectation is natural and widespread. A shared expectation is that the sun will provide sunlight and the sunlight will provide daytime lighting.


Living life with security is necessary for full development.  Security refers to feelings of protection and continued protection. Shelter from cold and heat and other environmental harshness, from bugs that sting and bite and from other types of bites and scares that come from animals, and from stings and hurts delivered by people through physical actions or harmful words.

Personal expression

Living life with personal expression is basic human desire. Pastels, bold colors, allegro, adagio, moving in lines, moving gracefully, loud, large, miniature, soft, C sharp, B flat, broad strokes, measured slow movements, wordy, concise, structured, improvisation, group dynamics, individual efforts, inspired.

Each person has desire for making a mark and the more the personal expression is allowed to flourish, the more the person is fulfilled.


Living life with gratitude can happen when expectations are reasonable, security is available, and personal expression occurs. Wanting to be grateful is a good first step towards feeling grateful; naturally occurring gratitude appears when living is satisfying.  Each person has a gratitude capability for seeing his or her life for its fulfillment of the need to be expressive, satisfied, and secure.

The way towards feeling gratitude is to see life with unexpectant and present eyes.

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