Head funk. Ugh. We all get it. That nasty swirl of negative, obsessive thoughts. It’s like looking at the world through dense smog. It’s oppressive, unhealthy, and can make your inner world feel downright uninhabitable. Fortunately though, there’s a cure. And that cure is gratitude. And even more good fortune: we can touch the energy of gratitude anytime, anywhere.
Here’s a little game our family invented called “The Gratitude Game”. You don’t need special equipment. It doesn’t cost a dime. All you need are your working senses and an open heart. The rules are pretty simple: You have one minute to look out into the world and identify as many things as you can to be grateful for. (continued below)
But you can’t be general or abstract. You have to look out into the world and see reasons to feel grateful. And it doesn’t matter how small they are. Of course there are big things like health, food, a roof over your head. But there are small things too: like the color yellow on daffodils; like the breeze blowing; like the sound of that breeze moving through the trees. Like the smell of the air just before rainfall.
And you don’t have to limit yourself to nature. How about if you were driving in your car and playing The Gratitude Game? Lines painted in the center of the road. Traffic lights that work. Gas in the car. Your cup holder. Enough change for the meter.
The point is to train your mind to witness as many reasons for gratitude as fast as it can. When your mind is humming with gratitude, the smog of Head Funk can clear pretty quickly. And you’ll find that within the space of 60 seconds, you’ll feel can breathe again.
