Gratitude - Pillars of Happiness, Part 2

<p>This week’s episode is about the second pillar of happiness, which dovetails off last week’s episode on generosity (link in the resources if you missed it). Now, we’re diving into gratitude, framing it in a different way than you may have heard before - within the fundamentals of the foundation of mindfulness and impermanence, even in the context of grief or conflict.</p><p> </p><p>Gratitude is an aspect of mindfulness, lovingkindness, and compassion training that helps form a foundation for happiness and transforms people.</p><p> </p><p>Jack Kornfield told a story of some Russian astronauts who were stuck in a space station. The capsule they were supposed to return in had some mechanical problems, and no one was sure they would make it back safely.</p><p> </p><p>But they did. And when they got out of the capsule, they knelt down and kissed the earth and said, “Oh what an amazing thing to be able to be back on this planet and be able to walk, breathe air, and be among people.”</p><p> </p><p>This is the beginning of gratitude: to begin to sense the delight and the mystery of even just <strong>being</strong> here and being supported in all the unseen ways that life gives to us.</p><p> </p><p>There’s something about having this perspective that allows us to look around and say, wow, isn’t this extraordinary, amazing, and wonderful?</p><p> </p><p>Gratitude becomes a way of touching the heart, opening up ourselves to something greater, to connecting with one another and to connecting with something that’s greater than us.</p><p> </p><p>And the neuroscience of it shows that living with gratitude brings better health. You become more socially connected, more resilient, less anxious.</p><p> </p><p>It allows us to shift from that scarcity and victim mentality - where we are being loyal to our suffering - into one of more power and awe.</p><p> </p><p>It’s a simple thing, too, right? In even the simplest relationships, when we express our appreciation, it becomes a way to connect. And as we continue to do it, we build a