Exploring Gratitude and Amazement in our Daily Lives

One of the more effective life hacks I've learned that works well for me from a mental and physical perspective is expressing morning gratitude and amazement.

Verbalizing Gratitude and Amazement Helps Me Heal

This started with the sounds my mechanical aortic valve makes every time my heart beats.  My aortic heart valve is obnoxiously loud much of the time.   I can usually hear the clicking and clacking noises the St. Jude medical device at most anytime of the day.

Hearing each heart beat has its advantages, for instance, I never need a metronome.  With my exercise regime and medications the pulse stays between fifty and sixty beats per minute.  Right on time.

Having an ever-present click-clock may be similar to Pan's Croc, you can hear me coming.  I also never need a blood pressure unit to take my pulse.  I know what my pulse is just listening to how far apart the clickity beats sound.

The audio can be extremely annoying too, even frightening when I am in PTSD mode.  Lying awake in the stillness of the night not only do the beats sound terrifyingly loud but they also make me realize just how fragile life is.  One heart beat away from no clicks.

Having a quiet human aortic valve may shield us from the sounds of hearts beating because 'out of sight, out of mind' is such a true premise.  Maybe that is why I never pondered about my heart beat before the aortic dissection event.

Fortunately I wake each morning and those clicks are still ringing strong, and so I am surprised and grateful.  From the rise of these morning spontaneous emotions I've put in place a purposeful approach of expressing amazement and gratitude.

Now amazement and gratitude are especially present in my mornings, and I am working on expressing these emotions throughout the rest of the day.

Verbalizing words or phrases such as; 'wow', 'I woke up to another day' and 'thank you!' help me habituate the appreciative approach.

Today I'm saying, 'thank you lungs', 'thank you eyes', thank you heart' and 'thank you universe'!  Along with the gratitude come words of amazement.  Exclaiming 'yes, another day!' and 'I'm alive!' or 'wow, the morning is so beautiful' and 'warm sunshine feels so good on my skin' keeps me in a marveling groove.

There are many articles about the benefits of gratitude and amazement.

Finally, I've found lots of fun in exclaiming at any given moment. 'Wow!  This is amazing!'  Amazement and gratitude make me happy and assist in keeping depression at bay.

Fundamentally I'm a realist.  I do not deny the chronic health challenges each of us face moment by moment.  I truly believe it is ok to express all range of emotions, positive and negative.

However, like a well-timed morning coffee break or walk in nature, exclaiming aloud with gratitude and amazement helps me along my metamorphosis out of stale chronic life into wherever my journey leads.