Instant mood lifter

Go ahead, complain. Tell me about everything that bothers you right now. Let it all out. Now, let it go. I know it's not easy. Holding on to resentment, to grievances, to a bad mood seems easier than releasing all of that negativity. Letting go makes us feel that we are ok with what annoys us and that we condone what others do (apparently) to us. Not so. Letting go of what displeases us changes us so that we don't care, so that whatever it is that bothers us doesn't.

How exactly do we do that? Simple (albeit not easy), we give thanks. We cannot be glad and annoyed at the same time. Giving thanks for anything then takes us from feeling antagonistic to feeling a common vibration. Giving thanks does not change the situation, it changes us. Once you open your heart to gratitude, there's no room for bitterness. In an instant, you can change the way you feel, you can lift your mood. The effect is in the now, yet with practice it becomes a habit and in time it becomes the way we respond to what irritates us, every time.

This morning, as I sat in heavy traffic, I remembered my father's laughter and I was thankful for it. As the morning progressed, I was thankful for my son's sensitivity, for my friends, for my love life, for my meditation practice, for the kindness of strangers, for the workers who started their journey early today, for the technology available to me and more. Today is a good day to try this. The next time you are annoyed by anything, be thankful for anything. It will lift your mood...instantly.