10 Reasons You Should Be Grateful to Be Alive
By now, we’ve all heard that gratitude is an important part of our mental wellbeing. Research shows how a written gratitude practice can help even those struggling with mental illness.
There’s plenty to be grateful for in the world, that we could not appreciate were we not alive. Here are some things to be grateful for that you may not have considered.
1. Your favorite tv show
If you don’t watch tv, then fine, but chances are you watch tv, and if you do you have a favorite program. You’re alive so you can watch it (almost) whenever you want. And if it’s an ongoing tv show, then you have new seasons to look forward to with your favorite characters.
2. Your pets
Not everyone had pets, so this may not be applicable, but those who do generally enjoy their pets. You love your pets and your pets love you too. Hug your little friends today and give them some pets.
3. Nature
Whether you’re a beach or mountain person, summer or winter, there is something special about being in raw nature. Whenever I’m around mountains, all I can do is stare in wonder. How can something so beautiful and natural exist on this earth? There’s hidden beauty in nature everywhere, you just have to look.
4. The Internet
How amazing is it that we get the chance to grow up in the age of technology? I think about my mom and how things were so much different. Now, it’s all at the tip of our fingers. There are amazing things on the internet. I personally love the internet. All my research, my tv shows, games, books, and more are accessible to me because of the internet.
5. Your imagination
The mind is a fascinating thing. It’s capable of so much, and we don’t even know the full extent of it. You can go to sleep and have colorful and vivid dreams. You can daydream about your perfect life, and you can pull things out of your mind and make a new creation. Definitely one of my favorite things.
6. You can read
If you couldn’t read, you couldn’t be reading this. You couldn’t read a lot of things, and it’s surprising how many things you read during the day. All of your language skills, and the ability to understand language, are pretty spectacular.
7. The night sky
This is kind of related to nature, but really. Have you taken a look at the night sky recently? It’s not as easy in the city lights, but when you have an open sky to look up to, you can see stars in our solar system and the moon. The moon is fabulous.
8. Music
Listening to music can be cathartic. You can actually feel the emotions as your favorite bands sing about them. The sound of pianos and guitars playing is like magic. Even just listening to raw instruments has a beauty to it.
9. Your sanity
This one is a little underrated and taken for granted. Granted, ‘sanity’ is a relevant term. There are still leaps and bounds of mental illness to cope with. BUT at least you’re not living in a mental hospital. You’re not out of your mind, which is super unpleasant, to say the least. It’s a gift to be able to string together sentences and be a (relatively) functioning human.
10. Laughter
Laughter is a way of expressing pure enjoyment of something. It speaks to the simple joys of living and it releases feel-good chemicals in your brain. There is nothing better than the feeling of gut-wrenching laughter and the laughter that comes because you’re laughing so much.
No matter how you spin it, gratitude is great to show your appreciation in life and can only improve your mental wellbeing. What are you grateful for today?
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