Creating magic through gratitude

When I was a child I was a big believer in magic. I believed there were fairies in my garden. I was convinced that witches and wizards were real, that if I didn't get home by dark a bunyip would get me, and that if I wished hard enough it would come true. In year 6 I was the only student who still believed in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy.

Naive? Maybe. Innocent? Probably. But I believed because I wanted to believe that there was something more, some mystery we hadn't discovered yet.

Growing up, the reality that life wasn't idyllic hit pretty hard. I've been through periods of severe depression and multiple diagnoses of medical conditions haven't helped. Last week I got another diagnosis, and like most people in my situation, depression set in again. But I was never one to take things lying down. I knew I couldn't let it engulf me. So I let myself have a few days to sit with it, question it, talk it through with my family. Thursday I made a choice. I chose to start a gratitude journal and each night as I sat in bed, I challenged myself to write down 10 things I was grateful for. I know, they say start with 3 things. But I figured if I was really going to make this work, I had to think of more than that.

I will admit on day 1 to being grateful for fresh air, and on day 2 being grateful that someone invented tissues, and on day 3 being grateful for light, but now I've been doing it for a week it comes naturally to find things to be grateful for. It doesn't have to be big things, in fact appreciating the small things and the small moments means I'm looking at life through a new lens.

And magic has been created.

Like it's literally lifting off the pages.

Instead of thinking "Oh no, it's raining! I can't go for a walk", I think "Yes! It's raining! Time to enjoy a hot chocolate and a good book!". Instead of thinking "Damn, I'm not well enough to go to work", I think, "Ahhh, I've got time for me today. I've got the opportunity to chillax and take it easy." So the washing didn't get done - so what? There's always tomorrow.

I'm finding the important things again. I'm waking up looking forward to the day. Each night I go to be with gratitude in my heart. And while it hasn't stopped the bad dreams, and hasn't changed the facts, it has changed how I look at them and how I approach challenges.

It has created magic.

I went for a short walk today and got a huge smile from the sullen teenager down the road as she walked to school. I smiled the whole way. I wasn't thinking "what if..." and "I'm bound to be in the larger percentage of people who are successful at (insert anything you like)". I was thinking "someone has to be in the smaller percentage who are successful - why can't that be me?". I was gazing down the roadway of potential and seeing the bend in the path, and wondering what was around it.

I know there are going to be bumps and bends and hills that are challenging. But as a wise Buddhist saying goes: roads are for journeys, not destinations. So I'm grateful for the journey.

I hope my optimism is oozing off the page and into all your lives...

And just in case you're not feeling my optimism yet, here's a great song to start you off:

Did I mention I'm grateful for funky music you can dance to?