I know I have mentioned this before on the blog but it is so simple and effective I am going to keep coming back to it. Do it now. It only takes a few minutes.
Stop and think, list 3 things that have made you happy over the last 24hrs. Gifts that have come in to your life. Perhaps something from nature, a conversation or comment from a friend. Whatever they are make a note of them. So often we glide through life without noticing these gifts in our life. Try doing this at the end of the day for 7 days. You may be surprised how you start being aware of them during the day thinking ‘that can be one of my gifts for today’. Soon unconsciously you are looking for them. You become more optimistic an seeing the positive things in life. Research has shown if done each day this simple exervise can be more effective for people with depression than prozac over a 7 day period.
St Ignatius wrote The Spiritual Exercises which have guided people for centuries. The Exercises include the examen. This is a powerful yet simple process which can change your life. Ignatius saw the examen as the cornerstone to spiritual life, to the extent that when the Jesuits at the Council of Trent asked if they could skip their prayer exercises because they had no time, Ignatius told them to skip anything but the examen. This is a variation the examen can be powerful whether you are spiritual or not.
Mine for today are: listening to my son sing, a comment from a neighbour, seeing the birds in the trees in the garden.
