Gratitude and Relationships

It is my experience that we build very few deep and meaningful relationships in life.   Many of the people I know and have met express regret that they are unable to spend more time with a friend building that relationship or in pursuit of mastery of a skill/hobby.

What holds us back from pouring ourselves into a relationship or hobby?  Why do we prefer to hold court with so many different people or spend so little time on an activity that brings us much joy? Why do we spend the little free time we have in the pursuit of activities that we think will make others happy?

We can spend plenty of time going over the why behind these questions and try to apply some psychological analysis to help us justify our actions.  Or, we can stop and try practicing gratitude for the few meaningful relationships and hobbies we have in life.

I have found that a daily routine of writing the reasons why I am grateful for a few specific relationships and hobbies has helped me develop a much deeper and meaningful appreciation of that person and hobby.  It is through this daily habit that I have learned not to take the relationship for granted, to express my gratitude for that person and make time every day for practicing my hobby.  It is through this commitment that I have experienced more joy in my relationships and the hobby’s that I pursue.

If you are reading this, I am sure you are like, that totally makes sense, yes it does!  I would encourage you to begin a practice of daily gratitude towards the relationships and hobby’s you value most.  I cannot guarantee you a positive result; I can only tell you that my experience has produced amazing results.