Yesterday I thought that my gratitude today would be related to my sense of taste.
I didn't include that sense in my gratitude yesterday, so I thought I would go crazy spoiling my tastebuds today.
It's not that I haven't spoiled them. I had plenty of foods today, as always. And lots of foods that I really enjoy, but even though I tried, I wasn't really able to dwel with the taste today, and I cannot honestly say that any of the tastings I had actually made me feel grateful.
I even went down to the harbor this evening with the rest of my family, buying and enjoying our very first ice cream this year - or at least it's my first. But still, I did not succeed in feeling the gratitude. And when I don't feel it, it does not count. That's my gratitude rule :-) Maybe I just tried too hard.
But I did feel gratitude today, and at a time when I did not try at all.
I was driving back home from work in the train this afternoon. The train was extremely crowded. There were bikes and prams all over, it was quite warm, half of us had to stand, and since I am not a strong standing-passenger, I really had to concentrate on not getting sick. However even though my concentration was quite occupied, and the means of transportation this afternoon wasn't comfortable at all, gratitude came quite strong and convincing during this ride.
I started noticing a man in his late twenties. He was drinking a beer from a can. He had spilled some of it before I noticed him, and now he came back from the toilet, where he probably had washed of the beer from his hands or clothes.
A woman in her late 50's or early 60's held his chair down for him when he came back. He was holding his beer in one hand, and his smart phone and earplugs in the other. They smiled at each other, and then she offers him a napkin from her bag. He accept with appreciation, and he then tried to dry the floor. Once again they smiled at each other, and exchanged a few words, and then he spontaneously reach out and shook her hand, while they presented themselves to each other.
No irritation, no condemnation.
On the contrary a lot of approachability.
Emotions can be contagious.
We actually do have mirror neurons that makes us tune in, and mimic each other, many times each and every day, and in lots of situations, and therefore emotions can actually spread from one person to another.
I don't know if that's what happened in my train today. And I don't know if these two people infected the rest of us, but despite the fact that people were bumping into each other all the time, everyone seemed to be focused on helping each other out, and being appreciative.
Bikes were held and replaced smooth and with lots of cooperation, children were entertained cross-wagon, bags and chairs were held, smiles were exchanged, and even when two extra prams arrived in a train that was already way too crowded, everybody just seemed to support the woman closest to the door, who said; "Of course we have room for you as well! There is room for everybody".
My gratitude today therefore goes to a surprisingly welcoming and cooperative atmosphere amongst a lot of strangers sharing approximately half an hour in an overly-crowded train, on an ordinary Wednesday afternoon, which actually made that little incident so extraordinary that I still carried it with me to the ice cream stroll to the harbor and the beach quite a few hours later.
I didn't include that sense in my gratitude yesterday, so I thought I would go crazy spoiling my tastebuds today.
It's not that I haven't spoiled them. I had plenty of foods today, as always. And lots of foods that I really enjoy, but even though I tried, I wasn't really able to dwel with the taste today, and I cannot honestly say that any of the tastings I had actually made me feel grateful.
I even went down to the harbor this evening with the rest of my family, buying and enjoying our very first ice cream this year - or at least it's my first. But still, I did not succeed in feeling the gratitude. And when I don't feel it, it does not count. That's my gratitude rule :-) Maybe I just tried too hard.
But I did feel gratitude today, and at a time when I did not try at all.
I was driving back home from work in the train this afternoon. The train was extremely crowded. There were bikes and prams all over, it was quite warm, half of us had to stand, and since I am not a strong standing-passenger, I really had to concentrate on not getting sick. However even though my concentration was quite occupied, and the means of transportation this afternoon wasn't comfortable at all, gratitude came quite strong and convincing during this ride.
I started noticing a man in his late twenties. He was drinking a beer from a can. He had spilled some of it before I noticed him, and now he came back from the toilet, where he probably had washed of the beer from his hands or clothes.
A woman in her late 50's or early 60's held his chair down for him when he came back. He was holding his beer in one hand, and his smart phone and earplugs in the other. They smiled at each other, and then she offers him a napkin from her bag. He accept with appreciation, and he then tried to dry the floor. Once again they smiled at each other, and exchanged a few words, and then he spontaneously reach out and shook her hand, while they presented themselves to each other.
No irritation, no condemnation.
On the contrary a lot of approachability.
Emotions can be contagious.
We actually do have mirror neurons that makes us tune in, and mimic each other, many times each and every day, and in lots of situations, and therefore emotions can actually spread from one person to another.
I don't know if that's what happened in my train today. And I don't know if these two people infected the rest of us, but despite the fact that people were bumping into each other all the time, everyone seemed to be focused on helping each other out, and being appreciative.
Bikes were held and replaced smooth and with lots of cooperation, children were entertained cross-wagon, bags and chairs were held, smiles were exchanged, and even when two extra prams arrived in a train that was already way too crowded, everybody just seemed to support the woman closest to the door, who said; "Of course we have room for you as well! There is room for everybody".
My gratitude today therefore goes to a surprisingly welcoming and cooperative atmosphere amongst a lot of strangers sharing approximately half an hour in an overly-crowded train, on an ordinary Wednesday afternoon, which actually made that little incident so extraordinary that I still carried it with me to the ice cream stroll to the harbor and the beach quite a few hours later.
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