The Third Reiki Principle
Over the last two weeks, we have discussed the origin of Dr. Usui’s gokai, his precepts for living in right relationship with the universe, and we took a look at the first gokai, “Just for today, I will not worry,” and the second gokai, “Just for today, I will not anger.” Today, we are going to dedicate ourselves to the third gokai:
Just for today, I will be filled with humble gratitude.
This is my favorite of the Five Principles of Reiki. Not because I want to force the toxic positivity, “you have so much to be grateful for, so why are you unhappy,” B.S. down your throats, but because gratitude is a cornerstone of mindfulness that has LITERALLY changed my life.
Here’s how it works:
Imagine all of the tiny incredible things you experience in a day. The little dust particles floating in a beam of light that shines through your window in the morning when you wake up. The taste of your favorite coffee brewed just how you like it. The way the eyes of the person you love crinkle at the edges when they smile at you. The way a good stretch feels when it’s so needed it’s almost involuntary. I could go on, but you get the idea.
If you pay attention, you’ll notice a million things each and every day that contain an entire universe of wonder for which to be grateful.
And that’s why mindfulness is the key. Sure, it’s easy to be grateful for life’s biggest blessings. But real gratitude comes in the quiet moments. In the simplicity of life, we have an opportunity to find expansive joy. And if we’re missing all those seemingly small moments because we’re not fully present, then we’re robbing ourselves of life’s magic.
So here’s how to find true gratitude (this is obviously not a comprehensive list):
Meditate: even if it’s only 10 minutes per day, meditation is a great way to build a strong foundation of mindfulness. Remember, it’s not about clearing your mind, it’s about focus, acknowledgement, and acceptance.
Take mindfulness breaks: every few hours take a five minute break in your day to breathe deeply and observe your surroundings. Set an alarm for yourself to get into the habit at first.
Start a gratitude list: if you’re the type of person who likes lists, then you’ll love this one! Just start a document on your computer and make an open-ended list of “things to be grateful for” that you can add to anytime you want. When you’re feeling down, you can always visit your list and be reminded of what is important to you, no matter how small it may be.
Say, “thank you!” This seems so obvious, but I’ve actually found that we don’t express gratitude to others nearly as often as we can. For example, I have no problem expressing thanks to my server at a restaurant, or a person who holds a door open for me. After all, that’s just polite. But loving gratitude requires more vulnerability, more awareness, more mindfulness, and, quite frankly, more joy. True gratitude is acknowledging your partner when they hold space for you in a difficult moment, even though we may think that that kind of support is par-for-the-course in a partnership. True gratitude is randomly calling up your mother to thank her for the lesson she taught you decades ago that you still use today. True gratitude is never keeping a single “thank you” to yourself, when you could just as easily express it. How great does it make you feel to be thanked out of the blue or acknowledged for something that to you seems like second nature? It’s validating and it makes you feel loved, right? So why wouldn’t you take every opportunity possible to do the same thing for the people you love and appreciate?
So, why is gratitude so important, anyways?
It’s simple: gratitude not only requires us to be in the present moment to be able to express it, but it reminds us that even in our dark moments, there is beauty to be found. A friend said to me the other day, “It hurts me to see you hurt,” and I responded with, “Why? Our hurts teach us beautiful lessons, and for that I’m grateful.” I wasn’t trying to make this friend feel better, I was living in gratitude, even in my hurts.
Because when I can see all of the glorious blessings I have to be grateful for in every aspect of my life, I have my reason to keep persisting in difficult times and glorious ones. The toxic positivity falls away, and all I’m left with is peace, wonder, and abiding joy.
