Practising Gratitude by Arthur_P_Ciaramicoli

Dec 18 aft
The power of empathy
Tolerance
Am I being truly tolerant (in the sense of being open minded) or am I just trying to keep peace? Am I so dependent on my partner that I ignore his or her contemptuous behaviour, hoping to salvage a difficult rship?

Tolerance requires discipline and respect boundaries. When we put up with cruelty in the name of tolerance we threaten to destroy the experience. Unbounded tolerance can diminish the power of empathy.

Practising gratitude
1. Slow down
When we fail to see our lives as a process - sequence of events, a work in progress - we tend to feel ungrateful. Gratitude arises not when we measure our lives.

2. Ask: What do I need?
What do u want that u can never get enough? Why don't u get filled up? What hole is draining?
Is it possibly that what u need is emptiness rather than fullness.

Soul
Still want my partner. The longing has reduced somewhat after the Sannidi. Today during sadhana has intermittent tots of Z. I waived it off every time.
Having Sannidhi gives me the love and comfort I lacked. And now feeling more grounded after stopping plough back.

3. Say thank you as often as u can

4. Let people know u appreciate them.
Saying I appreciate u is sometimes more meaningful than saying "I love u".
It gives u the perfect opportunity to think and talk about why u are grateful for their company, help, insight or support.

5. Use gratitude to organise life.
How can you organise ur days around activities that u most enjoy? Which tasks do u find most boring or mind-boggling? Which talents do u have that come naturally to u?
Organise ur life around activities that u are grateful to perform and ur gratitude will grow exponentially.

Soul
This is good.

6. Learn to delay gratification