Join me, Terri Kellums, on a heartfelt journey through the world of gratitude on our second day of the 12 Days of Christmas series. While exploring this theme, I opened up about a tradition close to my heart—one that began with my daughters and a daily group message to share things we're thankful for. This practice not only strengthened our family bond but led to an expansion of my circle of gratitude, enveloping friends and loved ones in a shared experience of appreciation. I'll take you through the highs and lows of maintaining a gratitude practice, touching upon those challenging days when finding things to be thankful for seems like an insurmountable task.
This episode offers you a 'life hack' for those tough mornings, starting with identifying five things you're grateful for, from the familiar aroma of coffee to the cozy caress of your bedsheets. Whether you're looking to enhance your relationships, boost your health, or enrich your emotional and spiritual well-being, this episode is your invitation to cultivate a habit of gratitude that can profoundly shift your perspective and bring renewed joy every day. Let's learn how to turn the ordinary into an opportunity for thankfulness.
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Speaker 1:
You're listening to the what Women Want Today podcast. If you love the idea of being part of a community of women who are looking to thrive, not just survive, you're in the right place. Join hosts Terry Cullums and Amanda Keeper each week, as they bring you topics and guests to help you improve your relationships, your health and your emotional and spiritual well-being.
Speaker 2:
Hello and welcome to today's episode of the what Women Want Today podcast. I'm your host, terry Cullums. Welcome to day two of the 12 days of Christmas. Today we're going to focus on gratitude.
Speaker 2:
I started really thinking about gratitude a few years ago. My daughters and I would get on a daily group text message and we would. I think we picked the number five. For some reason, we would pick five things we were grateful for that day and we did that for several years in a row, every November first, we would do that and it expanded I believe it was last year expanded to include other people in my life and I just find it a very, just, a very wonderful 30 days.
Speaker 2:
It's when you focus on gratitude your mind will automatically shift away from negative thoughts and it's almost as if you're looking for things to be grateful for. And in fact, I think mindfulness is the key to gratitude, because if you're in a moment whether it's like today, I have been trying to reset my circadian rhythm, I've not been sleeping well, and they say, if you get out in the morning and you see the sun rise and then in the evening you go out and you see the sun set, it can be one of the tools you can use to gradually reset your circadian rhythm, and so I've been going out and walking every morning. Like I look at the weather app on my phone and if it says 710 is when sun rise, is that I'm out there at 710, ready to go for my 30 minute walk. Well, today I had a date set up with a friend to do the walk. We were going to actually go out to one of my favorite places and do a little hike and she ended up getting caught up with doing some family stuff so she couldn't make it, so I went out there. I wasn't ready to go for a walk, I didn't know at that point she had rescheduled, so I just went out there and just like stood and closed my eyes and just let like the sun shine on me and I automatically my thought was I'm so grateful for the sunshine.
Speaker 2:
The last couple of days here in Southern Arizona it's been really cloudy, and to see the sun reminded me how grateful I am that I live in a place where I get 300 plus days of sunshine every year. It was one of the reasons I actually wanted to move to Arizona in the first place was, you know, just the sheer amount of sunshine that we get every year here. So I found myself, you know, feeling very grateful, and when you can put yourself in the moment where you are and feel that gratefulness for even the smallest of things, whether it's, you know, I'll walk out some outside sometimes just to take out the trash, and if you can smell a little bit of rain in the air, you'll feel grateful. It like it starts to build on itself. It's almost as if your brain is taking over and is looking for more ways for you to be grateful. So here we are, day two on the 12 days of Christmas, and I really want to focus on gratitude today, and I know there have been times when I've struggled.
Speaker 2:
My habit is to to name five things I'm grateful for before I get out of bed in the morning and when I don't get sleep, when I'm not sleeping great, I wake up really groggy and it can be really hard to remember to do my gratefulness practice. And on the days when you know you're having a tough day, it can seem really, really hard sometimes to think of things to be grateful for. So I kind of have a little, a little cheap, or a little life hack I just go immediately to the my five senses and I'll say what can I see that I'm grateful for? What can I smell that I'm grateful for? The smell is usually coffee, I'll give you that. What can I touch that I'm that I'm grateful for?
Speaker 2:
A lot of times, that is, you know, I'm grateful that my husband is very affectionate first thing in the morning, like once he realizes he's awake, you know he's right next to me, wanting to, you know, to touch me and to be close to me. What can you taste? Well, again, you know we could go to the coffee if we want to. And what can you hear? And this morning, when I was going through it and I went through the five senses that's the first thing I do it kind of kick starts me, you know. I thought, oh, I was grateful that I got to talk to my grandson the other day it was his eighth birthday this past weekend and you know he called us on FaceTime and just to be able to hear his voice and to be able to see him at the same time hit two of my senses and I was really grateful for that time.
Speaker 2:
And so that is a little life hack for you you can use your five senses, really getting into a gratefulness practice. It doesn't have to be before you got to bed. In fact, a lot of people that I've talked to like to make it as part of their meditation routine in the morning. So they'll get up and they'll schedule some quiet time to, you know, put down their thoughts, collect themselves for the day, write down what they're grateful for, just spend some quiet time and reflective thought or even prayer, and I think that's a very good habit to get into.
Speaker 2:
I think you know, having a gratitude journal, like a journal that is specifically for gratitude, is really nice because then, when you are having a tough time I've actually talked to quite a few people today, which is unusual because some days are pretty quiet around here, but I actually talked to quite a few people today and you know, I think you know when you're having a tough day it can be really hard to find things that you're grateful for. But I will tell you that if you get into this habit and you develop a grateful practice, you will automatically see some changes, like right away, like there's some benefits. I wrote them down so I wouldn't forget. Better sleep, which I'm hoping you know will help self-esteem immunity. It improves your relationships, because who doesn't love to hear that someone is grateful for them? I'm grateful that you called, or you know.
Speaker 2:
Whatever the activity is, it actually changes some neural pathways in your brain, so you are going to get a hit of dopamine and serotonin when you start your gratefulness practice and practice it daily, and it actually affects the limbic system, so you're going to get some emotional regulation as well.
Speaker 2:
And so there is a good saying that I came across a while back and I wanted to share it with you today, and it says that gratitude takes what we have and turns it into more than enough, and I love that. Head over to the Facebook group today and tell me something that you're grateful for, and I will leave you with this. The meaning of the song, the 12 Days of Christmas, day 2 is Two Turtle Doves, and it often symbolizes love and partnership. So use this day to discuss the important relationships and your meaningful connections, and we will see you tomorrow for day 3. Have a great day, and I don't know if this ever happens to you, but I sometimes will learn something really cool on a podcast, on a YouTube video, audio book, whatever. I think I'm going to remember it and then I forget. Does that ever happen to you?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I call it brain after 40 all the time.
Speaker 2:
That's what we'll officially call it, but we've come up with something. Do you want to introduce it?
Speaker 3:
Sure, it's from an app called quick, jim quick, and it's an acronym called fast.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, and it stands for Facebook. So we're inviting you officially right now to come over and join us on Facebook. Get involved with the community, share your favorite episodes with your friends on Facebook.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, the A is go ahead and take an action, so you can't remember anything if you don't act.
Speaker 2:
And, as is for subscribe, make sure you're subscribed to our YouTube channel.
Speaker 3:
And then T is teach. Teach what you've learned to somebody else. Share the love.
Speaker 2:
All right, we hope that works for you. Thank you for joining us. We'll see you next week.