The Magic Box By Amerdeep S

Now what would you say if I told, you I had a magic box and in there was the secret to inner peace and happiness? Well, I’m sure you’d eagerly relieve me of that box. Who wouldn’t want to know the secret to happiness, peace and joy?! 

So, picture this. You now have this box in your hand and your mind is doing crazy cartwheels as to what could be in this box. Is there going to be the holy grail, philosopher’s stone, a sand fairy that grants wishes (like 5 children and it) or even a genie in a lamp! Then you open this box fumbling with the clasp because you are nervous and your hands are sweaty with anticipation. 

*Anti-climax Alert. *

You open the lid and look into the box to see a small piece of paper with one word on there. Queue drumroll. It says….

Gratitude. 

Ta dah!!!

You scratch your head in confusion. Seriously is this it, you’re wondering. You shake the box thinking this makes no sense. It’s a magic box where’s the magic? There weren’t even any poofs of sparkle and glitter when you opened the flipping box. You look at the word again.

Gratitude. 

Right OK then. Now what did your mind do when it was told that there was a box containing the secret to happiness and peace? It probably went to extreme thinking, making things complicated and things more unrealistic. 

We watch too many movies and buy into too many myths that tell us what happiness is. We read all the self-help books (I’m guilty of this) and think well I read that book and I’m still not getting what I want. I’m still not happy or thing I wanted is not manifesting. What now?! What did I do wrong? 

This is my point. Do we make things complicated for ourselves? Genuine question no accusation. Do we in our pursuit of happiness, joy and inner peace, forget to smell the roses that are under our nose? Do we miss what is actually around us and in front of us because we are so consumed with what we haven’t got. 

Well, I’m not happy and I must be happy or whatever it is you think you must feel. We are bombarded with information these days. We all know this right. We are literally being suffocated with knowledge, data, subliminal messages and societal expectations. At every angle we have information thrown at us and if ever it wasn’t in front of us, we willingly pick up our phone and consume more information. (Again, no accusations as I’m trying to consume less myself!)

Anyway. my point is have you ever just thought no, I’m not picking my phone up to distract me from silence and my emotions. I am going to really look at what’s around me. 

In a really long way this brings me back to that word in the magical box ‘gratitude’. 

So, what does me being on my phone too much have to do with gratitude and why’s it in my magical box, I hear you shout. Well dear reader, this is how. 

There’s no complicated secret to happiness and there shouldn’t be an expensive secret either that you fork a small fortune out for! I don’t claim that gratitude is the cure all for everything. However, I do know that the practice of gratitude changed my life. For the simple reason that in practicing daily gratitude it helped to shift my focus towards positivity and what I had. It was a simple and fun thing to do. It changed my perspective and focused me on what is beautiful in my life.

So here’s my suggestion. 

1.Look up once in a while, look around you and see what is there.  
2.Make it a daily habit to find things to be grateful for. 
3. Make gratitude lists at the end of the day
4. Create a gratitude jar (this I started in 2015 after reading something Elizabeth Gilbert wrote about gratitude jars).
5. Go beauty hunting. This is where you go into your day and you look for things that are beautiful. Not superficial beauty but the real beauty. E.g. seeing an elderly couple hold hands. (I learnt about beauty hunting at a retreat in Italy run by a lady called Jen Pastiloff. She taught me all about beauty hunting and from her I learnt the power of this action). 
6. You can set yourself targets of how many beautiful things you are spotting or how many things you are going to find in the day to be grateful about.
7. Go wild with this if you want. Have fun. 

I started off going through my day and beauty hunting 5 things. Then I’d name 3 things that I was grateful for at the end of the day. I than progressed to the gratitude jar and I did this until gratitude became a part of my life. I started my day with gratitude and ended it that way. Everyday. Regardless of what that day was filled with.

Gratitude became an automatic thing I did like brushing my teeth in the morning. 

It helped trust me. I’ve been in some dark places and gratitude was the first big step in bringing light back into my life. It helped me to shift my focus from the negativity and drama to all the things I had to be grateful for. It made me want to really look around and appreciate the beauty in the world. 

Somehow in that moment those negative feelings and thoughts melted away. When all those philosophers and spiritual teachers said the present is all there is, in the moment of practicing gratitude I got it. 

It’s not always easy is it, to be present, to be in the moment rather than in our heads. Especially when we’re going through some thing. 

Trust me. Please. This practice will help if you let it. It will become a tool that will seamlessly blend into your life. Simple as that. Try it. You may be surprised by what you find. 

Amerdeep is pursuing her love of writing whilst working full-time and managing a fibromyalgia diagnosis. She is currently working on publishing a children’s book, healing her mind and body from illness and trauma. She is qualified in Reiki, Crystal healing and Creative Visualisation. Find out more on her Instagram blog page: @dipscribes or personal account @amerdeeps