Prescription Strength Gratitude

On November 20, 2020, Russell M. Nelson, renowned heart surgeon and leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, released a video. He talked about the “healing power of gratitude” and how “counting our blessings is far better than recounting our problems.” Thanksgiving was coming up in the middle of a pandemic, and the talk online was nothing resembling positivity. The news was dreary, heavily opinionated, and divisive. Social media was toxic and riddled with negativity. Russell M. Nelson, being a doctor, prescribed a cure to help heal souls. He asked people to post on social media everyday for a week telling what they were grateful for and why, while using the hashtag #givethanks. Giving thanks in prayer was also an essential part of the process. That video garnered over twelve million views on YouTube and the hashtag #givethanks was used over three million times. 

I was touched by his request and decided to take the message to heart. I immediately wrote my first post – 

I don’t particularly remember feeling remarkably better about life, but I kept it up. 

The next day I wrote about how grateful I was for minimalism and our family car. 

Little did I know that our car would serve us only a few weeks longer. When it finally gave out… I was grateful to have enjoyed driving it as long as I had. 

I showed gratitude for being a full-time nursing mom, with a baby who never lets me put her down. 

I showed gratitude for my perceived trials, like missing out on snow. 

Since then I’ve been able to head to Utah and play in piles and mountains of snow. And when my children were crying because they had been chilled to the bone while playing… I felt gratitude that they had the chance to sled. I started feeling the benefits of the gratitude prescription. 

When my little one had messy accidents I thanked God that she had healthy kidneys. When I finally got to wear makeup, I didn’t lament my lot in life that wearing makeup was an event. I was so grateful that every so often I could put it on and feel like a supermodel. When I had to use my hubby’s body wash, I was grateful for an amazing hubby and that I could have his scent with me all day. When I looked in my fridge and saw nothing but raw veggies, I felt rich. 

The person writing this post, and the person who started this blog a few years ago, are two different people. I have had a change of heart. The combination of becoming minimalist, relying on faith, and practicing the healing art of gratitude have changed me so drastically. 

Christmas this year was the best one I’ve ever had, because of gratitude. I’ve captured beautiful moments I otherwise would have missed, because of gratitude. We were quarantined for the entire month of January at my in-laws house in Utah (shortly after arriving one of the family tested positive for Covid). I thanked my Father in Heaven for my in-laws, for central heating, for a full pantry, for a dishwasher, for people willing to hold my baby, and for staying healthy even when people in our household had the virus. I thanked the Lord for my blessings. 

I am so grateful for Russell M. Nelson and his inspiration to invite the world to be more grateful. I invite you, if you haven’t seen his video, to give it a look (The Healing Power of Gratitude). It might change your life.