Gifts

A sincere letter for you

Dear neighbor, friend, sibling, family;

I’m writing this letter to you against every logical reason why I shouldn’t. I feel strongly convicted to remind you today, right now, of the power of gratitude.

This afternoon, I was sitting shoulders raised, stiff-necked, furiously tapping a keyboard, attempting to shave my overwhelming task list by at least one item. My phone buzzed with a WhatsApp message from my Tia celebrating El Dia de los Reyes Magos (Three Kings Day, January 6), and in that pause I think I actually took the deepest breath I’d taken in hours.

Gifts. Receiving. Gratitude.

After work, I thought of some folks in my life who have helped me as well as countless others. I pulled out my phone, and wrote them a note of gratitude.

With that simple act, I think I actually felt my body heal a little.

I don’t know about you, but my default mindset is what my pastor calls ‘a place of lack.’ I notice very quickly and easily what’s missing in my life, what I don’t have, what’s difficult, and what’s wrong. Interestingly, when I listen to other people share their own reflections about life, I become a glass-half-full gal. Suddenly, it’s easy to see the plus side of everyone else’s life. (Well, “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence,” right?)

I suppose my nervous system, for whatever reason, is great at finding problems. That’s very helpful as an editor and a graphic designer, but it also means I tend toward anxious thought patterns.

Out of survival and wellness necessity, I’ve become a student of all the ways to chill a distraught nervous system… A student, not a master! One of those strategies is to practice gratitude.

Practicing gratitude requires us to become more mindful of our present reality. It feeds our brain’s reward system by finding goodness that we already possess:

“Thank you, God, for the ability to get to where I needed to be today. Thank you for the level of health I have today. Thank you for the comfortable clothes I can wear. Thank you for a private place to get ready for my day. Thank you for the people who made it possible for me to eat this food.”

Our neighbors living on the street have taught me about the multitude of small luxuries I enjoy on a daily basis. I’m grateful for their lessons.

It’s so much easier to smile when I—while not denying what still needs to be done—remind myself of what enormous gifts I already have.

Set in a comical and surrealist style, K-Pop star KEY’s music video for the song “Good & Great” has been playing often on my devices these days—sometimes on a loop, as I find myself craving the feeling of gratitude.

KEY uses a typical office worker’s monologue to convey the power of a shift from ‘gotta get outta here,’ to gratitude.

Dreaming of an escape from reality
Or maybe three hours, go AWOL
If I’m feeling my edge has dulled
Means I’ve been grinding in this world
That’s right, grateful for all this
But still sometimes just wanna vanish

On days when I'm having a hard time
Again, believe that I'm chosen

I'm good, I'm great
I work, get paid
Thank God all day
I love it, I'm epic
All day, a dozen times and more
Repeat the magic words
Okay, doing good
I'm pulling through

I'm good, I'm great
Because I'm grateful¹

You’re good and great. Next time you feel down, try your own gratitude experiment, and let me know how it goes.

Peace,
Angela

1. Excerpted translation of the original Korean and English by SM Entertainment, “Good & Great” music video English closed captioning