The Art of Soulful Living: What is gratitude?

Our philosophy, The Art of Soulful Living is brought to life through our compass, that acts as a guide to personal wellbeing. This month, we are focusing on Gratitude, one of the points on our compass. For we see gratitude as something you can learn and that can bring more joy into your life

Gratitude is a very important theme because it truly defines how you experience life, both the highs and the lows it brings. It is like the glass being half full or half empty equation. Cultivating an attitude of gratitude is something you can learn and it gives you a simple formula to experience more joy in your everyday life: more gratitude = more joy.

There are different forms of gratitude, too: you can be grateful for a person, for something material, or grateful for an experience. You can receive gratitude and you can express it to someone else. And then there is another consideration: the timestamp. You can be grateful for something that happened in the past or you can be grateful for something you experience in the here and now, and then there is gratitude towards the future, which starts with the simple act of being grateful for being alive, and every new day and opportunity it can bring you.

This in turn will make you feel happier, less anxious, and optimistic about what lies ahead. Receiving or expressing gratitude has been shown to release dopamine and serotonin in your brain, known as the feel-good hormones. Grateful people do not take anything for granted. They tend to be less stressed, sleep better, have more vitality and energy, and face life with positivity. Research has proved that gratitude impacts both your emotional and physical wellbeing, so do not hold back, express your gratitude whenever you can. You will not regret it. Maybe its ultimate effect is best explained by the saying: ‘It is not happy people who are grateful. It is grateful people who are happy.’

Gratitude: A deep dive

This month, writer Poorna Bell explores the ways in which she found peace and gratitude when it felt impossible.

If you want to find gratitude in a magical place, all you have to do is look up, here we show you why stargazing has some wonderful wellbeing benefits.

Cultivate deeper connections and ignite your gratitude in just 10-minutes with this impactful meditation by our expert Giselle La Pompe-Moore.

Foster an attitude of gratitude towards your discarded items and give them a new lease of life with our practical tips for upcycling Rituals products.

Journaling is often tied to practising gratitude, but if you don’t fancy putting pen to paper here are some alternative ways to practice gratitude and stick to it.

Read all about The Art of Soulful Living and each of the compass points here.

Want to know more about gratitude? Our first ever book, The Book of Rituals, delves deep into this topic and so much more. Featuring inspirational articles, unique art work and wellbeing wisdom, this luxurious coffee table book is the ultimate guide to soulful living. Click here to shop The Book of Rituals.