Gratitude Practice
09 July 2026The Concept of Gratitude
What is gratitude and why is it so important to liberation? Gratitude is the ability to look around and see the good things - things for which you can be grateful. Gratitude practice is making this action a part of your normal life. It is important because our minds have the potential to get stuck in ruts of thinking. When we begin to look for something in the world, we begin to filter for it. When we focus on sadness and fear, these take over our lives.
We quickly find ourselves in dark places, where our mind begins to close in on itself. Gratitude is the opposite of this - it is looking outside of yourself for better things.
Gratitude as a Practice
Look around you - what is there for which you can be grateful. If you are not used to doing this, your mind will tell you there isn’t much for which you can be grateful. Look! Maybe you have enough to eat, maybe you have a roof over your head at night, maybe you are healthy, maybe you have people who love you . . . There are things, if you look.
Find at time where you can think about these things. For me, it is just before I go to bed. I think about all of the things that are good in my life and I drift off to sleep in this blissful state. Maybe for you, it will be when you wake up in the morning and have that first tea or coffee - find your time!
Changes to Your Mind
You will find that the way you think changes. You will find yourself opening up from your fear, dread and frustration. Opening your mind in this way is part of making new connections. You will never be free, as long as you have closed yourself off to the rest of existence. We need each other and you are important to the happiness of us all!
May all beings be free from suffering!
Tūruapō